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Egypt notified that Ethiopia has resumed filling of giant dam

Egypt’s irrigation minister said on Monday he had received official notice from Ethiopia that it had begun filling the reservoir behind its giant hydropower dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), for a second year. Egypt has informed Ethiopia of its categorical rejection of the measure, which it regards as a threat to regional stability, Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty said in a statement.
July 6, 2021 by

Opinion: Cheap renewables offer the key to universal electricity access in Africa

In this opinion article, co-authored by European Commission executive vice president Frans Timmermans and International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol, it is argued that to make energy poverty history in Africa the whole world will need to work in concert to end funding for coal power, boost cooperation to expand clean electricity across the continent and to scale-up financial support from advanced economies.
July 6, 2021 by

Botswana issues licence for first large scale solar power plant

The Botswana energy regulator has granted a generation licence for a 100 MW solar project to local firm Shumba Energy, a company executive said on Monday, making it the first independent power producer to set up a large scale solar plant in the country. Botswana does not currently have large scale solar power generation and its 600 MW national energy demand is met by state owned coal-fired plants and imports, primarily from South Africa and Mozambique.
July 5, 2021 by

Sasol, IDC team up to stimulate South Africa’s green-hydrogen industry

JSE-listed Sasol and the State-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) have signed a memorandum of cooperation to jointly advance South Africa’s green-hydrogen economy. In a joint statement, the two companies said the memorandum recognised that South Africa was in a unique position to leverage its world-class renewable resources and Sasol’s Fischer-Tropsch technology and skills to position the country as a global hydrogen leader.
July 5, 2021 by

IFC, Canada invest in Kinguele Aval hydropower plant in Gabon

Development finance institution the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and various Canadian government organisations are providing a financing package for the 35 MW Kinguele Aval hydropower plant, in Gabon. Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Fund FIPS, Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Parallel Fund FIPS and the Fonds Gabonais d’Investissements Strategiques (FGIS), with the support of the government of Canada, are providing funding for the project, which is the first independent power producer project in Gabon.
July 5, 2021 by

Nafcoc pushes for transformation amid promise of energy generation opportunities

Federated chamber the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) has welcomed the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that the licensing-exemption threshold for distributed generation projects will be increased to 100 MW from the previous cap of 1 MW. “We are delighted with this development as it allows ordinary companies and independent power producers (IPPs) to contribute significantly to the country’s energy requirements and it also creates an environment that is conducive to investment in clean energy in South Africa,” says Nafcoc Gauteng spokesperson Refilwe Monageng.
July 2, 2021 by

KfW issues RFI for €200m South African green-hydrogen programme

A request for Information (RFI), aimed at gathering information on potential green hydrogen project opportunities in South Africa, has been released. The RFI has been issued by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Meridian Economics on behalf of German development bank KfW, which has set aside up to €200-million in concessional financing on behalf of the German government for the initiative.
July 2, 2021 by