If you cannot read this email follow this link
| |||||||||
| African Power Platform - Newsletter #13 | ||||||||
Week 28, 2019 | |||||||||
EDITORIAL | |||||||||
Dear reader, Welcome to the thirteenth African Power Platform (APP) newsletter. June has been a great month, with a lot happening in the power sector and during the Africa Energy Forum in Lisbon. At the APP, we welcome the new members Glosya Infrastructures and Ric Energy and we have created a new section for job opportunities where we are posting open positions in the sector through Africa. In terms of news, the AfDB announced the launching of the Facility for Energy Inclusion, a debt financing facility for small scale energy access projects. We will explore it at the Africa Power Access Accelerator Program. The selection of news this week is dominated buy solar projects, off-grid and financing, showing that those are the hottest trends. I'd like to drive your attention to the issues of financial guarantees, key requirements to unlock power projects, now that sovereign guarantees are almost impossible to get. My good friend Jef Vincent is an expert working with IRENA on setting up a marketplace for that, the RAMP. For more details, please go through the paper he kindly shared. We've introduced the C&I subject on previous newsletter and in partnership with the new member Ric Energy we are preparing a program for development of C&I captive power projects across Africa. Watch out for more info in coming editions. That's all for this week. Keep well, keep energized. Meanwhile, the APP keeps here, serving the power industry in Africa.
Jorge Lascas Founder & Managing Director | |||||||||
FROM THE PRESS | |||||||||
NIGERIA: EU okays 165m euros for Nigeria’s renewable energy. Read the article >> Its Head of Delegation to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ketil Karslen, said all was set for the funds to support the aspirations of the Federal Government to improve electricity supply and grow the economy. | |||||||||
AFRICA: AfDB grants $500 million credit for electrification from renewable energy sources. Read the article >> Good news for renewable energy project developers in Africa, who now have an additional $500 million in funding to carry out their projects. Called the Energy Inclusion Facility (EIF), the line of credit is opened by the African Development Bank (AfDB). | |||||||||
ESWATINI: South Africa's CONCO wins solar power project. Read the article >> South Africa’s Consolidated Infrastructure Group (CONCO) has won a $16 million contract to build a 10 megawatt solar project in eSwatini, the firm said late on Thursday. | |||||||||
KENYA: Utility-scale PV to power green city complex. Read the article >> US firm MCX Environmental Energy Corp will invest US$100 million to deploy a 30MW plant onsite at the Mwale Medical and Technology City (MMTC), an hour-drive north from Lake Victoria. | |||||||||
MADAGASCAR wants more solar. Read the article >> The Malagasy government has announced three PV projects, each with a 5 MW generation capacity, will be built this year. The nation’s cumulative installed solar capacity was only 33 MW at the end of last year. | |||||||||
RWANDA: Dutch company Nots to invest $70m in solar factory. Read the article >> The Rwandan government signed an agreement with Nots under which the Dutch company will invest $70 million in a factory that will manufacture equipment for home solar kit suppliers. | |||||||||
AFRICA: How to accelerate renewable energy projects. Read the article >> On the second day of the Africa Energy Forum (11-14 June 2019), during a round table devoted to private investment trends and IPPs (independent private power producers), which are very active in renewable energy, there was a pressing demand from all participants: let's accelerate projects! | |||||||||
SEYCHELLES: Africa’s first utility-scale floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) project in the offing. Read the article >> The project being implemented by the Government of Seychelles will be located in Providence lagoon on Mahé Island and will have an estimated capacity between 3.5 – 4 MWAC. | |||||||||
AFRICA: MyHydro Energy Venture Launched As Trump Initiative for Africa is Unveiled. Read the article >> Symbion Power - based in New York - along with Natel Energy of San Francisco, have created a new energy utility platform called MyHydro. This mini-hydro system will deliver affordable power to villages and towns on a round-the-clock basis by converting water-flow into electrical energy. | |||||||||
AFRICA: Azuri Technologies raises $26 million to expand solar kit business. Read the article >> UK-based Azuri Technologies said it has raised $26 million to expand its individual solar kit business to cater to African households. | |||||||||
KENYA to invest $47m World Bank loan in off-grid solar energy in far-flung regions. Read the article >> The facility, under the Kenya-Off-Grid Solar Access Project (Kosap), is seeking to establish viable off-grid solutions for areas that are too far from the national grid to be economically viable when using power transmission and distribution facilities. Kosap is set to receive a total of $150 billion from the World Bank. | |||||||||
AFRICA: Five takeaways from the Africa Energy Forum 2019. Read the article >> This year’s Africa Energy Forum (AEF) considered the plethora of issues concerning power across the continent. Finance is always a burning issue, as is regulatory reform, but even solving those thorny problems will not ensure a smooth path for African renewables. African utilities need reform to achieve and sustain long term power investment. Moreover, one solution doesn’t fit all in such an extensive, exuberant and varied market. | |||||||||
EAST AFRICA: Pan-African financier to fund green energy projects. Read the article >> Pan African financier, Trade and Development Bank (TDB), plans to fund green energy projects in east Africa, officials said on Tuesday. | |||||||||
NIGERIA: IFC, Nigeria develop standards for solar products. Read the article >> The Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, are collaborating to develop standards for Pico photovoltaic products and solar home systems. | |||||||||
PRESS RELEASES | |||||||||
IRENA RAMP: Introducing the Risk Assessment and Mitigation Platform for renewable energy development. Read the article >> RAMP will help to see through the maze of eligibility criteria and facilitate direct contacts if & when there is a match between a provider and a potential user of a risk mitigation instrument. | |||||||||
ATI & KfW unveil the Transparency Tool – an energy solution designed to quicken the pace of electrification in Africa. Read the article >> The Transparency Tool is an on-line platform that works in tandem with another innovation created by the duo, the Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF). Both solutions support Independent Power Producers (IPPs), one of the important providers of energy, who are key to unlocking the renewable energy potential in Africa. | |||||||||
Power Africa Announces Grant Winners to Improve Energy Access in Uganda Refugee Settlements. Read the article >> USAID through the U.S. Government’s Power Africa partnership, awarded $465,000 in grants to three private companies to improve energy access and enhance livelihoods and services for Uganda’s refugee and host communities. USAID Uganda Acting Mission Director Rick Somarriba and Power Africa Deputy Coordinator Richard Nelson congratulated Fenix International, Brightlife, and SolarNow for their winning proposals, awarded through the USAID Power Africa De-Risking Pay-As-You-Go Solar Home Systems initiative. | |||||||||
A new solar hybrid mini-grid was officially launched in Rutenderi, Rwanda. Read the article >> Absolute Energy (AE) with the support of EnDev Rwanda, implemented by GIZ, celebrated the official launch of their 50kW solar PV and storage hybrid mini-grid in Rutenderi Village, Gatsibo district, Rwanda. | |||||||||
FROM THE MEMBERS | |||||||||
Women & Men Against Child Abuse and Eversheds Sutherland in South Africa are extremely honoured to announce their partnership and the establishment of a Child Law Clinic during Child Protection Week in our joint quest to improve the plight of abused children in South Africa. | |||||||||
Aurora Power Solutions and Sola Future Energy are combining forces to form Sola Group, bringing together a large solar project pipeline, including 48 MW in Zambia and 79 MW in South Africa. | |||||||||
TENDERS | |||||||||
Submission deadline: 11th July 2019 | Category: Consultancy Country: Mozambique | Entity: IFC
| |||||||||
Submission deadline: 12th July 2019 | Category: EPC Country: Mali | Entity: European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM Mali)
| |||||||||
Submission deadline: 12th July 2019 | Category: Consultancy Country: Zambia | Entity: Rural Electrification Authority
| |||||||||
Submission deadline: 15th July 2019 | Category: Consultancy Countries: Nigeria | Entity: Rural Electrification Agency
| |||||||||
Submission deadline: 18th May 2019 | Category: EPC Country: Tanzania | Entity: Tanesco
| |||||||||
Submission deadline: 30th July 2019 | Category: Consultancy Country: Ivory Coast | Entity: European Commission
| |||||||||
Submission deadline: 13th August 2019 | Category: Construction Country: Uganda | Entity: Enabel
| |||||||||
ACCELERATOR | |||||||||
The “Africa Power Access Accelerator” program, by the African Power Platform, bridges the existing gap between project developers and consultants / technology providers / financiers. Third application window closes on the 30th September 2019. Results from first application window will be announced soon.
| |||||||||
UPCOMING EVENTS | |||||||||
Date: 25 - 27 July 2019 | Location: Nairobi - Kenya
| |||||||||
Date: 20 - 23 August 2019 | Location: Abuja, Nigeria
| |||||||||
Date: 9 - 13 September 2019 | Location: Johannesburg, South Africa | |||||||||
FEATURED REPORT | |||||||||
Publication date: 2019, May | Author: ECREEE / Spanish Cooperation Improvements in infrastructure, access to technology and markets are all key to increasing competitiveness of agriculture in West Africa. Sustainable energy solutions can contribute to these needs throughout the life of the crop: from irrigation to processing for final consumption. Electricity demand from agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to double between 2015 and 2030 (World Bank, 2017).
| |||||||||
JOBS | |||||||||
Published: 24th May 2019 | Location: Nairobi, Kenya Description: We are seeking applications from candidates with Renewable Energy Debt Financing experiences in Sub Saharan Africa. Must have 7-9 years of relevant professional experience, preferably in a banking, private debt/equity fund or development finance environment.
| |||||||||
JOIN THE AFRICAN POWER PLATFORM | |||||||||
If you want to join the African Power Platform and enjoy the full set of benefits visit our membership page or contact us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
| Follow us: |
|
|
|
|
This email was sent on 2019/07/05 by
African Power Platform One West Park – Westlands Nairobi - KENYA
| |||||||||
