Tag: Sustainability & Renewable Energy

Platinum miners eye solar power as a green answer to load shedding

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – The world’s biggest platinum miners are ramping up plans to build renewable energy plants to free them from power outages that have plagued South Africa for more than a decade and to reduce their carbon footprint. Sibanye Stillwater, the number one platinum miner, Impala Platinum Holdings and Anglo American Platinum said they plan to scale up solar and wind farms for their own use to cut reliance on state-owned utility Eskom, some of whose aging coal-fired plants have failed to keep up with electricity demand. South Africa…

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Eni and Kenyan government sign MoU to promote biofuels

Frank

KENYA – Oil and gas company Eni and Kenya’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mining have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote the decarbonization process. The MoU will tackle climate change through new industrial models of a fully integrated circular economy along the whole biofuel production value chain. They will jointly conduct feasibility studies to develop waste and residue collection as well as agricultural projects, with the purpose of establishing a wide range of feedstock sources that do not compete with food cycles, to be transformed into biofuels and…

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SEFA reports record number of transactions in 2020, secures US$90m in new funding

Frank

AFRICA – The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) approved seven high-impact projects worth US$54 million in 2020, its best year in spite of challenging Covid-19 conditions, according to its recently released 2020 Annual Report. SEFA, managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), focuses on green baseload, green mini-grid, and energy efficiency investments. The Fund, founded in 2011, transformed into a Special Fund on 31 October 2019. The report, titled Building Foundations for Success, also details the Fund’s success in attracting increased donor funding. SEFA secured commitments worth US$90 million from…

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Sasol, IDC Group ink deal to develop hydrogen economy in South Africa

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Petrochemical giant Sasol and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on developing and shaping an enabling environment for South Africa’s green hydrogen economy. In a press statement, the parties said the agreement was based on the mutual recognition that South Africa was well placed to harness its world-class renewable energy endowment and infrastructure, as well as Sasol’s Fischer-Tropsch technology and capabilities, to position the country as a worldwide leader in the hydrogen economy. Sasol and the IDC would collaborate on…

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Power producer KenGen to earn US$1.1m from 550,981 carbon credits sale

Frank

KENYA – Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is set to benefit from its Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Projects, earning an estimated KSh 119 million (US$1.1 million). This follows the issuance of additional 309,495 Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) for KenGen’s Olkaria II CDM Project by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), bringing the total amount of issued carbon credits to 550,981. According to Rebecca Miano, KenGen Managing Director and CEO, climate change has become one of the biggest global environmental challenges and has created an urgent need for…

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Kenya’s Geothermal Development Company expands its technical muscle in Africa

Frank

KENYA – The Geothermal Development Company (GDC) is committed to building the capacity of geothermal practitioners in Africa as part of its South-to-South solutions strategy. The Company announced this strategy when it received 20 fellows, staff of Djibouti Geothermal Energy Development Authority (ODDEG) who are in Kenya training at GDC’s iconic Menengai Geothermal Project. The fellows are undergoing training in nine key specialized areas in geothermal resource development including drilling operations, environmental sciences, geophysics, geology, and geochemistry. The 29 days training has been funded by the Bundesanstalt fur Geowissenschaften and Rohstoffe…

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EIB approves US$95m financing for geothermal power generation in East Africa

Frank

EAST AFRICA – The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved US$4.9 billion financing for renewable energy, clean transport, COVID-19 recovery, social housing and education. Of this amount, US$95 million will be allocated to the East Africa Rift Geothermal Project. The operation is an envelope for financing individual private sector investments into geothermal power generation projects in different countries in the East African Rift region and the sub-operations under the envelope will undergo individual project appraisals and be separately approved for bank financing. Funding will be available for the countries of:…

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Private hospital group Mediclinic ink deal with Moshesh Partners to deploy solar power at six hospitals

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Private hospital group Mediclinic has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with renewable energy producer Moshesh Partners to deploy a solar photovoltaic (PV) system at six of its hospitals. The 12-year PPA, signed with the option to extend to 25 years, will ensure that the hospitals have access to affordable and clean power over that time period, according to the medical group. The agreement comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that South Africa would raise the limit on self-generation of renewable power from 1MW to 100MW, including the ability to sell excess capacity into the grid, declaring…

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DPA and Econet to reduce carbon footprint through use of solar batteries

Frank

ZIMBABWE – Distributed Power Africa (DPA), a leading renewable energy solutions company, is targeting to reduce Econet Wireless Zimbabwe’s diesel consumption by 80% through the use of solar batteries. Several businesses in Africa have been relying on fossil fuels to sustain their operations due to erratic power suppliers, however, environmental and sustainability concerns, along with rising fuel prices, have led many companies to turn to clean and renewable energy. DPA, which was recently recognised by TowerXchange,  a thought leader in the power industry as a leading energy service company in…

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Lexo Energy secures US$14m loan from IFC to install electric vehicle charging stations in Kenya and Tanzania

Frank

KENYA – Lexo Energy, a leading fuel retailer in East Africa, plans to gradually install electric vehicle charging stations in Kenya and Tanzania after a US$14 million  loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The energy company, which was established in Kenya in 2017, is involved in the distribution of diesel and petrol through its network of 33 retail fuel stations in Kenya and 7 stations in Tanzania. Lexo leases fuel stations from the owners and operates the stations under its brand. The company plans to use the IFC loan to…

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