The Minister of Infrastructure, James Musoni, has said that while the energy sector has played a key role to the country in achieving an average GDP growth of 8% for the last decade, considerable investment is still required in the sector for the country to achieve its economic target of 11.5% annual growth by 2020.   The Minister made the remarks on Tuesday while opening the third edition of the iPAD Rwanda Energy Infrastructure Forum in.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th November 2016

 Africa’s power suppliers can be profitable and still make electricity access affordable for consumers.   That’s according to the World Bank’s report, which looked at utilities’ financial statements and power tariffs in 39 African countries and spending data in 22 household surveys.   It suggests several ways of recovering the cost of supply and making electricity affordable.   That includes.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 3rd November 2016

 The third annual iPAD Rwanda Energy Infrastructure Forum could act as catalyst for the country to attract private investors into the crucial sector, utility experts have said. The two-day forum opens today, with about 250 delegates from different countries across the world expected to attend, according to the organisers. Evan Schiff, one of the organisers, said as much as the meeting has various expectations, this could as well act as an.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 1st November 2016

 Kenya recently signed a contract with the North China Power Engineering (NCPE) company for the construction of a 96km power line from Isinya in Kenya to the Namanga border with Tanzania. This is part of the Kenya-Tanzania interconnector project, which involves the construction of about 510km transmission line from Kenya to Tanzania. “With a capacity to transfer 2,000MW in either direction, the interconnector will have positive.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 26th October 2016

 Arusha — Over 40,000 households in 160 villages across the country would be connected with electricity by 2020 through mini-grids to be installed by PowerCorner Tanzania, a firm established in 2015 to provide energy access to the rural areas.   A total of $ 140,000 will be spent on the mini-power grid with the connection charges not exceeding $1,000 per village, according to Frederic Madry, the managing director of the Dar es.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 25th October 2016

 Authorities in Djibouti are working to increase the share of renewables in the energy mix, with a particular focus on harnessing the country’s plentiful geothermal resources.   In early August Djibouti’s Office of Development of Geothermal Energy inked a memorandum of understanding with Japanese conglomerate Toshiba to develop some 50 MW of geothermal energy projects across the country.   Under the terms of the.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 24th October 2016

 Eskom says South Africa is well-equipped to have nuclear power stations and has a nuclear safety culture, with Koeberg having operated safely for over 32 years.   The power utility said on their website about two-thirds of the world’s population live in countries where nuclear power plants are an integral part of electricity production and industrial infrastructures.   "The performance of the Koeberg power station.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 24th October 2016

 Amaya Capital, the African-focused principal investment firm, has announced an equity commitment of over $300 million in power generation platform.   The new investment follows the acquisition by growth markets investor, Actis of American Capital Energy & Infrastructure’s stake in Azura Power Holdings Limited (Azura).   The company said in a media statement that this transaction and the consequent expansion of.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 21st October 2016

 The renewable energy market is steadily growing in an African continent that can pride itself to possess in abundance a good mix of resources – sun, water, biomass and wind. Although far less uniformly distributed than the well documented solar resources, Africa with a large coastline still has one of the best potential for wind power production.  Over the last decade, there has been a gradual decrease of the cost of wind power.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 20th October 2016

 The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company has contracted Chinese firm North China Power Engineering Company to construct a 96 kilometre power transmission line running between Isinya and Namanga at a cost of Sh2.6 billion. This is part of the Kenya-Tanzania interconnector line that will hook Kenya’s national electricity grid to the Southern Africa Power Pool. The high voltage transmission line has a total length of 510km, of which.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 20th October 2016

 South Africa will lead the charge, as Sub-Saharan Africa’s renewable energy sector expands   Energy supplied from renewable sources across Sub-Saharan Africa will soar by nearly 65% between now and 2040, reaching around 585m tonnes of oil equivalent, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).   The region's power sector will see rapid growth of renewables-based capacity, which will skyrocket from around 20.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th October 2016

A floating power plant isn't something you see every day. The massive ships look like plants you'd see on land complete with tall exhaust stacks—except these plants are bobbing in the ocean.   They might look odd, but for people in growing economies around the world, the ships are a welcome sight. The floating power plants can dock in the harbor, crank up their turbines and start quickly generating electricity for customers on.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 18th October 2016