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Hydropower News

Red Rocket of South Africa hires Goldman to explore sale option

By: Bloomberg 24th April 2024 Red Rocket, a South African independent power provider, hired Goldman Sachs Group to advise on the next steps for the closely held business – including a possible sale. Shareholders of the Cape Town-based company “have decided to explore strategic options,” for the business, CEO Matteo Brambilla... →

Zambia seeks power imports for key mining sector

By: Reuters 23rd April 2024 Zambia's State-owned electricity utility Zesco said on Monday it is seeking to import power to avert an energy deficit that could affect output in Africa's second-largest copper producer. The southern African country generates 86% of its electricity from hydropower stations. Power generation has... →

AfDB president calls for political will to kick-start Inga 3 project

19th April 2024 Development finance institution African Development Bank (AfDB) group president Dr Akinwumi Adesina has called for a major political commitment to kick-start construction work on the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) giant Inga 3 dam, which has the potential to meet the power needs of more... →

Record yet uneven renewables growth recorded in 2023, Irena report shows

By: Terence Creamer 27th March 2024 Despite record renewable-energy installations of 473 GW last year, the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) says the pace of deployment remains well below that needed to match the global goal of tripling capacity by 2030. In addition, the geographic distribution of new investment was... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Solar photovoltaic installations surged by 32.2%, or 346 GW, last year

Zambia, Zimbabwe to retender $5bn Batoka hydropower plant

By: Bloomberg 25th March 2024 Zambia and Zimbabwe are retendering a $5-billion project to build a hydropower plant they previously awarded to General Electric Co. and Power Construction Corp. of China, and expect to select new bidders by September next year, an official said. The Zambezi River Authority — a joint venture... →

Map showing the location of the Batoka Gorge project

Energy-related emissions increased in 2023, but grew by less than 2022, IEA reports

By: Schalk Burger 1st March 2024 Global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rose less strongly in 2023 than the year before, even as total energy demand growth accelerated, with continued expansion of solar photovoltaic (PV), wind, nuclear power and electric cars helping the world avoid greater use of fossil fuels.... →

TotalEnergies CEO says IMF debt rules hobbling African green energy projects

By: Reuters 15th February 2024 Renewable energy investments in Africa are being hobbled by insufficient government loan guarantees, as the International Monetary Fund keeps a tight leash on country indebtedness, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said Wednesday. Pouyanne said currently electricity projects in Africa suffer... →

Photo by Reuters
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne

Mozambique’s $80bn energy overhaul to tap Zambezi’s power

By: Bloomberg 8th February 2024 Mozambique is seeking to become one of Africa’s biggest hydropower producers and launch a green hydrogen industry. The government plans to add 14 000 MW of hydropower capacity, with the bulk of that developed between 2030 and 2040, the government said in a 60-page Energy Transition Strategy seen... →

A hydropower plant and related infrastructure

Mozambique seeks to end 50-year hydropower pact with South Africa

By: Bloomberg 2nd February 2024 Mozambique plans to end half a century of hydropower supply to South Africa’s State-owned electricity utility, raising risks for the continent’s most industrialized economy and threatening the viability of Africa’s second-biggest aluminum smelter. In the country’s yet-to-be published energy... →

The Cahora Bassa hydropower plant

Growthpoint enters 195 GWh/y renewable energy PPA with Etana Energy

By: Schalk Burger 30th January 2024 JSE-listed real estate investment trust Growthpoint Properties has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with electricity trader Etana Energy for 195 GWh/y of renewable energy, which represents 32% of its total current yearly electricity consumption, which was 612 GWh in its 2023... →

Growthpoint Properties South Africa CEO Estienne de Klerk

Voith equips 2 GW Angolan hydropower plant

By: Donna Slater 20th December 2023 Technology group Voith reports that it has received an order to supply equipment for the large-scale hydropower plant Caculo Cabaça in Angola. The order comprises all electrical and mechanical equipment, including the installation of four Francis turbines with an output of 530 MW each, an... →

Egypt says talks over Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam have failed -statement

By: Reuters 20th December 2023 Egypt said on Tuesday that the latest talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) have failed, but it will closely monitor the process of filling and operating the dam and reserve the right to defend its water. "Egypt reserves its right, in accordance with international charters and... →

AfDB approves $9.72m grant to modernise African hydropower

By: Donna Slater 19th December 2023 The African Development Bank- (AfDB)-managed Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), on November 21, approved a $9.72-million grant to scale up the Africa Hydropower Modernisation Programme (AHMP) – a one-stop shop that overhauls African hydropower systems to enhance their reliability and... →

Hydropower plants, like Kinguélé Aval in Gabon, can, with refurbishment, play a key role in Africa's energy transition by reducing reliance on fossil fuel-derived electricity

Consortium appointed to develop Mozambique hydropower project

By: Schalk Burger 13th December 2023 A consortium comprising of energy companies EDF, TotalEnergies and Sumitomo Corporation, has been selected as the strategic partner by the government of Mozambique and has entered into a joint development agreement (JDA) for the development of the Mphanda Nkuwa hydropower project (MNK). The MNK... →

Photo by Reuters
The Zambezi river

Eskom acknowledges difficult trade-offs ahead as it pursues energy transition

By: Darren Parker 7th December 2023 State-owned utility Eskom is expecting to have to make “difficult trade-offs” in its pursuit of a just energy transition (JET) strategy, as it grapples with ongoing short-term operational struggles and budgetary shortfalls. Speaking at a South African National Energy Association webinar on... →

Eskom acknowledges difficult trade-offs ahead as it pursues energy transition

Mozambique approves $80bn energy transition strategy

By: Bloomberg 27th November 2023 Mozambique’s government approved a strategy to reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels that it estimates will cost $80-billion to implement by 2050, a step aimed at winning finance to develop the economy. The first steps envisioned in the Energy Transition Strategy, approved by the Council... →

Chinese firms showcase value of digital twinning in hydropower plants, metal factories

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th October 2023 As infrastructure engineering software company Bentley Systems gears up to host its 2023 Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure, on October 12, three Chinese finalists in the process and power generation category have illustrated the efficiencies that can be achieved with digital twinning. The... →

Funding increases for small business energy solutions as investment case improves

By: Schalk Burger 22nd September 2023 Different renewable energy, energy storage and/or generator solutions can partially address small businesses' energy related challenges, and funding to install such solutions in small businesses is increasing as the investment benefits for all parties become better understood. Small businesses... →

DRC still has difficulty securing investments in Inga power project – Tshisekedi

By: Reuters 20th September 2023 The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) still has difficulty securing investments for its Inga power project, the president said on Tuesday in New York, adding that the World Bank and China are interested. The multibillion-dollar project, which will harness the power of the Congo River, has been... →

Photo by Reuters
The Inga dam in the DRC

Ethiopia says it has completed filling of disputed dam project's reservoir

By: Reuters 11th September 2023 Ethiopia said on Sunday it had completed the fourth and final phase of filling a reservoir for its planned massive hydroelectric power plant on the Blue Nile, a project that Egypt and Sudan have long opposed. Construction of the $4-billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) began in 2011 and... →

Serengeti Energy appoints Anton-Louis Olivier as CEO

By: Schalk Burger 31st August 2023 Sub-Saharan African renewable energy company Serengeti Energy has appointed Anton-Louis Olivier as CEO. He brings a long record of working across the African continent and has a wealth of experience in all aspects of independent power producer development and financing, and in hydropower... →

Judgment in favour of power utility welcomed

25th August 2023 State-owned power utility Eskom in July said it was pleased with the Johannesburg High Court judgment dismissing with costs, the interdict application by green energy supplier G7 Renewable Energies to prevent Eskom from implementing the Interim Grid Capacity Allocation (IGCA) rules. In passing... →

Microgrid roll-out gaining traction

By: Halima Frost 25th August 2023 After the successful commissioning of State-owned power utility Eskom’s third microgrid, at the Swartkop dam, in the Northern Cape, the company aims to launch its next two microgrids at Nomalengena Village, in the Eastern Cape, and Nounieput, also in the Northern Cape, by December 31, 2023. The... →

A solar and battery powered microgrid developed and built by Eskom at the Swartkop dam in the Northern Cape

SEEING THE LIGHT Eskom has rolled out its third solar microgrid as part of a greater plan to provide universal access to electricity using clean and reliable technologies to remote areas

New Development Bank to provide R3.2bn loan to TCTA for LHWP Phase 2

By: Creamer Media Reporter 21st August 2023 The New Development Bank (NDB) – an initiative of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa bloc – and South Africa's Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) have signed a R3.2-billion loan agreement for the implementation of Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). The NDB... →

LHDA marks milestone in Polihali dam construction

By: Creamer Media Reporter 8th August 2023 The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA), consultants and contractors on the Polihali dam have marked an early construction milestone – the diversion of the Senqu river by the pre-cofferdam, and the subsequent diversion of the river into and through the diversion tunnels ahead of the... →

Construction on the Polihali dam as part of the LHWP Phase 2

Congo and South Africa plan to revive Inga 3 hydro project

By: Reuters 7th July 2023 Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa on Thursday pledged to revive Congo’s giant Inga 3 hydroelectric project that South Africa hopes will help solve its crippling power crisis. The $14-billion project, which will harness the power of the Congo River, has been repeatedly delayed by red... →

eLTE private network at Ghana hydropower facility most challenging African project yet for Huawei

By: Darren Parker 21st June 2023 The evolved long-term evolution (eLTE) broadband private network that Chinese information and communication technology company Huawei installed for the Bui Power Authority’s (BPA’s) hydropower plant, in northern Ghana, was one of the most challenging industrial private broadband network projects... →

Huawei corporate communications VP Edison Xie

Ghana aims for 30% nuclear, 20% renewables in energy mix by 2070

By: Darren Parker 20th June 2023 Ghana is gunning for nuclear energy to account for 30% of its energy mix by 2070, with renewable energy set to account for about 20%. “We see three key energy sources play a leading role in the supply of energy for the people of this country. First, we want to expand renewable energy to about 20... →

Energy Ministry power directorate deputy director Seth Mahu

Ghana authority to expand solar and hydro capacity

By: Darren Parker 20th June 2023 Ghana’s Bui Power Authority (BPA), with the collaboration of the grid operator, is planning on constructing a new 50 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) farm, in Dagbon, in the north of the country. This is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, BPA CEO Samuel Kofi Dzamesi has told Engineering... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Darren Parker
5 MW floating solar plant at the Bui dam in Ghana

Low-friction bearings reduce energy losses in free-stream turbines

9th June 2023 A hydro turbinecompany, based in Portland, Maine, in the US, has chosen Vesconite Bearings’lowest-friction material for the thrust bearings on its free-stream turbines. The material, Vesconite Superlube, has one of the lowest coefficients of friction of any plain bearing material available, with... →

Zimbabwe aims to double power output by 2025 to meet mining demand

By: Reuters 2nd June 2023 Zimbabwe's State power utility ZESA aims to more than double national grid capacity by 2025 to respond to increased demand from the mining sector, its chief executive said on Thursday. The country currently has a generating capacity of 2 000 MW but is only producing 1 400 MW due to regular... →

More than half of the world's large lakes are drying up, study finds

By: Reuters 19th May 2023 More than half of the world's large lakes and reservoirs have shrunk since the early 1990s, chiefly because of climate change, intensifying concerns about water for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption, a study published on Thursday found. A team of international researchers reported... →

Hydro venture plans to boost Madagascar power generation by 50%

By: Reuters 18th May 2023 Groupe Filatex, Madagascar’s largest employer, said it formed a venture with France’s Hyvity to add 50% to the Indian Ocean island nation’s electricity generation capacity by building hydropower plants. The enterprise, to be known as ENHY, plans to install 100 MW of capacity by 2028 and 300 MW... →

Kenyan official highlights importance of green energy to his country and to Africa

By: Rebecca Campbell 17th May 2023 Africa still has 589-million people who have no access to electricity, Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum Principal Secretary (equivalent to director-general in South Africa) Alex Wachira pointed out at the Enlit Africa conference in Cape Town on Wednesday. This represents 80% of all the... →

Pendulum swing from coal to renewables will spell disaster – NSBE

By: Darren Parker 21st April 2023 A “pendulum swing” from coal to renewable energy will not guarantee baseload grid stability in the foreseeable future, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) president Mdu Mlaba has said. “It will be completely irresponsible and will plunge the country deeper into the energy crisis,” he... →

The Komati coal-fired power station and solar panels

Untapped renewable resources in Africa should receive more attention – RES4Africa

By: Donna Slater 19th April 2023 As the majority of the world embraces a shift in electricity generation away from fossil fuels towards greener, renewable sources of energy, Africa faces several challenges in attracting investment capital to undertake a significant energy transition, renewable energy support foundation Renewable... →

City of Cape Town earmarks R1.2bn for Steenbras peaker plant upkeep

By: Donna Slater 18th April 2023 The City of Cape Town’s ‘Building Hope’ budget for 2023/24 proposes continued investment in its Steenbras hydroelectric pumped storage scheme, laying the foundation for a potential estimated investment of about R1.2-billion over the next nine years on the maintenance and expansion of the plant.... →

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