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Africa: Biofuels Don't Threaten Food Security - Study Production of biofuels does not necessarily constitute a threat to food security, a new study has concluded. The joint report by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, Imperial College London, and Camco International said crops can be produced for bioenergy on a significant scale in West, East and Southern Africa without affecting food production or natural habitats. The study was released at the 5th African Agriculture Science Week in Burkina Faso a fortnight ago. If approached with the proper policies and processes and with the inclusion of all the various stakeholders, bioenergy is not only compatible with food production; it can greatly benefit agriculture in Africa. Bioenergy production can bring investments in land, infrastructure and human resources that could help unlock Africa’s idle potential and positively increase food production. The conclusions of the report, “Mapping Food and Bioenergy in Africa,” were drawn from a review of existing research and case studies of biofuel production and policy in six countries: Senegal, Mali, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Mozambique. Among the report’s findings is that there is enough land to significantly increase the cultivation of crops such as sugarcane, sorghum, and jatropha for biofuels without diminishing food production. The case studies found that interest is growing across Africa in bioenergy to address both income and energy needs. For example, ethanol can be blended with fossil fuels to reduce dependence on expensive fuel imports. Ethanol can also be used in cooking stoves, reducing dependence on unhealthy and environmentally destructive charcoal and wood.In addition, using biodiesel to power electrical generators would a big boost to many areas in Africa, given the challenges facing the power grid. But as global demand for biodiesel and ethanol escalates, a key concern has emerged that a rush to expand production in Africa, particularly for export, could usurp land and resources needed for food crops. For More Information Click Here Kenya: Kenya to Guarantee Large Energy Projects The Kenya Cabinet has at last moved to secure guarantees needed to speed up implementation of key energy projects whose progress have been dogged by financial uncertainty for nearly one year. The Cabinet decision will unlock an estimated USD1.6 billion in financing from the private sector and development lenders for energy projects. Three critical wind power projects — including Turkana Wind Power, the largest wind farm in sub-Saharan Africa with a capacity of 300MW; as well as Olkaria 4, which is Kenya’s biggest geothermal power project with a capacity of 280MW — have not been able to reach financial closure after lenders pressed for sovereign guarantees and enhanced risk mitigation packages. Others are the Songoro Hydropower Project (21MW), the Tana Hydropower Project (10MW), Ngong Wind Power Project (5MW), Early Geothermal Power Project (80Mw), the Kindaruma upgrade project (25MW) and Olkaria 1 and 4 (280MW). Most affected by indecision over issuance of sovereign guarantees were public private partnership projects such as Turkana Wind Power, the Aeoulos Wind Power project in Kinangop (100MW), the Gulf Power medium-speed diesel power generation project (84MW), the Triumph Energy medium-speed diesel project (84MW) in Athi and the Menelec medium-speed diesel (84MW) and OrPOwer 4 (54MW) projects. Kenya has had to make the difficult choice of issuing guarantees to large energy projects and risking a massive spike in its public debt in the process — reversing the trend of reduction in the size of public debt witnessed in the past 10 years. As at 2002, public debt was at 65 per cent of GDP. But the figure has gradually come down to the current level of 43 per cent of GDP. For More Information Click Here SAC Energy Audits Help Reduce On-Farm Carbon Footprint SAC has launched a package of energy auditing services which aim to help farmers and growers lower their energy bills, reduce their carbon footprint and identify opportunities for the generation of renewable energy on their farms. SAC Engineers, Rod McGovern and Jim Campbell, with support from trained SAC Farm Business Consultants, are now offering energy auditing services to farmers throughout Scotland. The service is backed up by two new software programs developed by SAC. For More Information Click Here MTN unveils tri-generation plant to produce power, recycle water The MTN Group has recorded a major breakthrough in power generation on the African continent, with the development of a self-sustaining and environment-friendly power supply initiative. A team of engineers at MTN’s Network Group came up with the unique solution – a two-megawatt (MW), methane-driven tri-generation plant, which is the first of its kind on the African continent. Speaking at the unveiling of the plant at MTN’s 14th Avenue, Fairlands, campus recently, Karel Pienaar, Managing Director of MTN SA, stated that, in the current climate, there was greater pressure on companies to do more with less in a responsible and sustainable way. For More Information Click Here Selenium makes more efficient solar cells Call it the anti-sunscreen. That's more or less the description of what many solar energy researchers would like to find -- light-catching substances that could be added to photovoltaic materials in order to convert more of the sun's energy into carbon-free electricity. Research reported in the journalApplied Physics Letters, published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), describes how solar power could potentially be harvested by using oxide materials that contain the element selenium. A team at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, embedded selenium in zinc oxide, a relatively inexpensive material that could be promising for solar power conversion if it could make more efficient use of the sun's energy. The team found that even a relatively small amount of selenium, just 9 percent of the mostly zinc-oxide base, dramatically boosted the material's efficiency in absorbing light. For More Information Click Here Africa: Big dams - Bringing poverty, not power to Africa Electricity passes over a village resettled for Kariba Dam, Zimbabwe (Karin Retief) Africa’s large dams (more than 1,270 at last count) have consistently been built at the expense of rural communities, who have been forced to sacrifice their lands and livelihoods to them yet have reaped few benefits. Large hydro dams in Sudan, Senegal, Kenya, Zambia/Zimbabwe and Ghana have brought considerable social, environmental and economic damage to Africa, and have left a trail of "development–induced poverty" in their wake. Project benefits have been consistently overstated and inequitably shared. Large hydropower dams also reinforce centralized power grids, which disproportionately benefit industry and higher income groups, and widen income disparities (and energy inequities) between Africa’s poor and Africa’s elite. Between 1998 and 2000, an unprecedented global process to review large dams and their development effectiveness took place. In its final report, the independent World Commission on Dams (WCD), which was housed in Cape Town and headed by former South African water minister Kader Asmal, found that while "dams have made an important and significant contribution to human development, and benefits derived from them have been considerable... in too many cases an unacceptable and often unnecessary price has been paid to secure those benefits, especially in social and environmental terms, by people displaced, by communities downstream, by taxpayers and by the natural environment." The report also found that a, “lack of equity in the distribution of benefits has called into question the value of many dams in meeting water and energy development needs when compared with the alternatives.” While the WCD fulfilled its mandate to develop internationally acceptable criteria, guidelines and standards for planning dams, the World Bank, the dam industry, and most governments have refused to abide by them. Sadly, this sets the stage for more destructive dam projects in Africa. For More Information Click Here South Africa: Eskom proposes the first ever commercial wind power plant in South Africa Eskom proposes the first ever commercial scale Concentrating Solar Power plant in sub-Saharan Africa and the first utility-scale wind energy plant in South Africa under the Eskom Renewable Energy Investment Project. In responding to the growing electricity demand within South Africa, the need for diversifying South African electricity public utility Eskom's energy mix, as well as meeting the country's targets for renewable energy, Eskom embarked upon a research program to investigate South Africa's sources of renewable energy, and identify appropriate alternative solutions to meet the electricity needs of the country. Through this research, Eskom proposes the first ever commercial scale Concentrating Solar Power plant in sub-Saharan Africa and the first utility-scale wind power plant in South Africa under the Eskom Renewable Energy Investment Project (EREIP). The project is estimated to cost over USD1.2 billion, of which African Development Bank Group (AfDB) would contribute up to USD260 million and co-finance with Clean Technology Fund (CTF) resources of USD100 million. Other financiers include the World Bank, European Investment Bank, Agence française de développement and the German government-owned development bank (KfW). It is expected that the project would lead to a pipeline of similar projects undertaken by Eskom and independent power producers (IPPs) throughout sub-region. Component 1 of the project, the Sere Wind Power Project will consist in the first phase, a 100 MW wind farm comprising forty to fifty 2.0 to 2.5 MW wind turbines to be located approximately 300 km north of Cape Town near the town of Skaapvlei. For More Information Click Here Oil Rig of the Future: A Solar Panel That Produces Oil In the ongoing hunt for alternative fuel sources that are also cost-effective, researchers are looking into making biofuel from genetically engineered diatoms, a type of single-celled algae with shells made of glasslike silica. These microscopic plants commonly observed as a brown skin coating submerged stones in rivers and lakes and as phytoplankton in seas and oceans, typically contain oil droplets inside their cells. The oil is a food source for the plants in lean times. Scientific analysis of diatom oil has shown that it is very suitable for use as biofuel, says T. V. Ramachandra, a professor of ecological sciences at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here who is working on this project with IISc researchers Durga Mahapatra and Karthick Balasubramanian, along with Richard Gordon, a radiology professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnepeg. For More Information Click Here Kenya: Kengen Wins Round One in Power Deal Dispute KenGen has won the first round in its bid to stop a Chinese firm from interfering with a Sh3.75 billion tender for the construction of a geothermal plant in Olkaria. Court of Appeal yesterday temporarily stopped the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board from hearing afresh a review by Zhongman Petroleum & Natural Gas Group, until KenGen’s appeal is heard and determined. This saves KenGen from incurring a financial loss in drilling of geothermal wells at Olkaria I and IV, possible suits and crippling the economy, which would have adversely affected the public. Yesterday, three appellate judges said KenGen’s appeal raised important jurisdictional issues in the procurement process that would be determined by the court of the last resort. Court of Appeal judges Erastus Githinji, Daniel Aganyanya and Alnashir Visram made the ruling. Justice Githinji said it is KenGen and not Zhongman that would suffer in the event the determination of the appeal delays. For More Information Click Here Kenya: Kenya - Focus on Green Energy As the African nation continues to expand and the need for energy grows, geothermal, wind and other forms of renewable energy just might fit the bill. Take a booming economy that has a growing appetite for energy and add to it a crippled energy supply line that is forever at the mercy of the elements and frequent power cuts and you will get a need for more renewable energy. Faced with a myriad of energy problems and challenges that risk the economic expansion of this East African nation, renewable energy is the buzzword that has electrified the energy sector in Kenya. Kenya currently has an installed energy capacity of about 1,300 MW against a demand of about 1,100 MW with more than 60 percent of energy generated coming from hydro. This has over the last few years proved unreliable as the pangs of climate change hit closer home and the rain patterns have turned erratic. Being a regional economic powerhouse, Kenya has been racing against time to seek out new sources of energy to power its growing economic might in the region. Renewable energy is quickly proving to be one of the better options due to its lower costs and the availability of the natural resources needed for renewable power. For More Information Click Here Africa: Access to Rural Energy Will Require Prioritization in Africa With only five years left, African economies are still grappling with strategies to push for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by 2015. The goals that are oriented around creating employment and incomes, reducing hunger, combating preventable diseases, improving child health and education, arresting environmental degradation and halting discrimination among women, do not include access to modern fuels which is a major input in achieving them. It has been widely agreed that African economies will not make significant strides towards the attainment of MDGs unless considerable efforts to uptake renewable energy in rural areas is increased. In Uganda, like many other African countries, access to rural energy is still a formidable endeavor. Statistics from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics indicate that only 5 – 10 per cent of the population has access to electricity; in rural areas the number is lower that one per cent. Increasing uptake of rural energy will require that rural communities double consumption of modern fuels channeled towards productive activities. It will further necessitate that 50 per cent of inhabitants in rural areas use modern energy for cooking and lighting by adopting the use of energy savings stoves and solar systems respectively; 75 per cent of schools, clinics and community centers will need to get access to electricity and Motive power to support rural industrialization. For More Information Click Here Nigeria: Nigeria Oil Firms Set Up Fund for Spills Transocean, a French oil giant and a major player in Nigerian oil and gas industry, has recorded a major setback in its Nigerian operation following a major accident which occurred at its Akpo deepwater fields yesterday. THISDAY learnt that the boom of the crane on the drillship, GSF Jack Ryan, belonging to Transocean, one of the world's largest offshore drilling contractors yesterday evening fell, and in the process, two workers plunged into the ocean. And in a move similar to BP's USD20 billion fund for compensation in the Gulf of Mexico spill, multi-national oil companies operating in Nigeria have reached an agreement with government to float a joint fund to manage incidence of oil spill resulting from operations in the country. One of the victims of the Akpo accident was said to have been rescued and is currently undergoing treatment, while the other is still missing. The ultra-deepwater drillship is capable of operating in water depths up to 10,000ft. The rig has quarter’s capacity of 150 persons. For More Information Click Here World: BP Prepares To Plug Gulf Oil Well for Good BP Plc could start plugging its broken deep sea oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday night, more than three months after its rupture led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. BP engineers were preparing to pump heavy drilling mud and cement into the well in a procedure known as a "static kill," retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the U.S. official overseeing the federal spill response, said on Sunday. He said the two-pronged effort to finally kill the runaway well would start "as early as Monday night" or possibly early on Tuesday with the static kill procedure. Five to seven days later, mud and cement would be pumped in from below, via a relief well that has been dug deep into the earth, to seal the leak once and for all. After earlier attempts to plug the well were plagued by setbacks, this week's effort will be closely watched from Washington to London, from the Gulf coast to Wall Street. For More Information Click Here Africa: EU Sees Solar Power Imported From Sahara in 5 Years Europe will import its first solar-generated electricity from North Africa within the next five years, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in an interview on Sunday. The European Union is backing projects to turn the plentiful sunlight in the Sahara desert into electricity for power-hungry Europe, a scheme it hopes will help meet its target of deriving 20 percent of http://www.esi-africa.com/node/11302 its energy from renewable sources in 2020. He said those initial volumes would come from small pilot projects, but the amount of electricity would go up into the thousands of megawatts as projects including the 400 billion euro Desertec solar scheme come on stream. For More Information Click Here Mozambique: Brazil and Mozambique Sign Energy Accord The ministers of energy of Brazil and Mozambique have signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation in the preparation and execution of studies, projects and programs in the field of energy. The MOU was signed by Brazil’s minister of mines and energy, Márcio Zimmermann, and Mozambique’s minister of energy, Salvador Namburete, during the latter’s visit to Brazil last week. The MOU, which is a result of the visit of Mozambique president Armando Guebuza to Brazil in June 2009, is aimed at boosting the realization of energy projects in Mozambique, and in particular on the development and mobilization of funding for the Tete-Maputo transmission link. The two countries will also share expertise in the construction of DC and AC transmission. Under the terms of the MOU Brazil’s state energy company Eletrobras will carry out the study for construction of the 1,400 km transmission link, with should be concluded in the first quarter of 2011. The link will include two 800 kV DC lines and a third 400 kV AC line at an estimated cost of USD1.4 billion. For More Information Click Here China: Chinese Solar Power Firm Scores As World Cup Sponsor China did not qualify for the World Cup, but the country is still making an appearance in South Africa. An ambitious Chinese solar company, the country's first World Cup sponsor, has placed advertising in all the stadiums in a bid to give its brand a worldwide boost. Yingli Green Energy Co.'s sponsorship deal allows it to show its logo of Yingli Solar, in Chinese and English, on electronic perimeter-boards at all 64 games of the World Cup. The Yingli slogan appears for 30 seconds at a time, totaling 8 minutes in each game. Yingli also has right to showcase its solar products near the stadiums. It is a bold move by the New York Stock Exchange-listed solar panel maker, based in the city of Baoding, southwest of Beijing. The company is not well-known in China. Set up in 1998 with nearly 7,000 employees now, Yingli said its main markets are overseas, with Europe accounting for more than 50 percent. Liu said core markets also happened to be big football countries, such as Germany, Italy, Spain and France, plus the United States." For More Information Click Here Morocco: Africa's Biggest Wind Farm Opens in Morocco Morocco’s King Mohammed VI inaugurated R2,2 billion wind farm near Tangiers, which an official source said was the biggest in Africa. The new wind farm, which cost some 300 million dollars, is located in Melloussa, 34 kilometers (21 miles) from Tangiers in northern Morocco and has 165 turbines, with a production capacity of 140 megawatts. The project was part-financed by the European Bank, which invested 80 million Euros, while Spanish and German banks put in a total of 150 million Euros. Morocco’s Minister of Energy and Mining, Yamsmina Benkhadra, said the wind farm “is part of a global project estimated at three billion dollars. It will be completed in 2020.” The project, she said, would secure 42 percent of Morocco’s energy production, with wind farms, solar and hydraulic sources each generating 14 percent of the total. This would reduce Morocco’s energy bill, Benkhadra said, and would “assure our energy security and a sustainable development.” A large wind farm in north Morocco opened in 2000 with a 54-megawatt capacity. For More Information Click Here Ghana: World Bank Supports Prepay Metering, Loss Reduction in Ghana The World Bank has approved an additional amount of US$70 million for the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) under the Ghana Energy Development and Access Project (GEDAP), to enable the company to scale up its distribution system improvement and loss reduction activities. In particular the new activities will be focused in the Ashanti region, with a special focus on Kumasi and its vicinity, and will include the installation of prepaid meters as well as upgrades to the distribution system. About 346,000 of ECG’s customers in the Ashanti region are using credit meters. However, meter tampering, electricity theft, meter reading errors, and payment arrears have led to high commercial losses by ECG in that area. Indeed at 32 percent the Ashanti region has the highest energy losses amongst ECG’s operational areas. The new investments are aimed at reducing the system losses in the region to about 22 percent, and to improving revenue collection. To this end approximately 140,000 ECG customers (mainly residential) will have their credit meters replaced with split-type prepaid meters, while a further 14,000 new customers will be provided with prepaid meters. In addition, to bring ECG closer to its customers, the company will construct five additional district offices and two new customer service centers in the region. For More Information Click Here Africa: Searching For Solutions to Global Warming In Africa What would the wealthy nations of the West (and their rising rivals in the East) do if they actually wanted to prevent catastrophic warming? Here in Africa, the obvious answer is that they would find the ways and means to discourage deforestation-the ruinous practice of clear-cutting for timber, charcoal and arable land that accounts for at least 20 percent of the atmospheric carbon burden. Save the trees, and you might just save the planet. In theory, this ought to be a simple enough task to accomplish, with sufficient motivation and money. But in practice, the incentives created by Western policy are so perverse, according to Tanzania president Jakaya Kikwete, that they reward clear-cutting not once but twice over. So he told Bill Clinton, who is visiting Africa this week to oversee the Clinton Foundation's work on health care and renewable energy. The need for food and fuel, let alone cash, is immediate in poor countries; the threat of climate change is not.. For More Information Click Here World: Top Industrial Nations Pledge Energy Efficiency Nations pledged Tuesday to work together to improve the efficiency of energy-guzzlers from televisions to cars, showing practical cooperation on climate change despite a deadlock on sealing a treaty. Senior officials from economies that make up more than 80 percent of global gross domestic product agreed on 11 initiatives during talks in Washington, which betrayed none of the sharp divisions typical of climate negotiations. US Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who led the meeting, said Tuesday that the clean energy projects would eliminate the need for more than 500 mid-sized power plants around the world over the next 20 years. While the two-day talks were not designed to pledge funds, Chu said that the nations together have invested "hundreds of millions of dollars" in developing green energy, and several states said they were boosting resources in research. One key initiative will look at ways to improve the energy efficiency of home appliances such as televisions, which the US Energy Department estimated would reduce the need for about 80 power plants by 2030. A number of nations will participate in the appliance research, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, India and European nations. Angola: Angola to Re-Construct Hydropower Project The Cavango small hydroelectric project in Angola will be re-constructed this year. The project suffered extensive damage during the civil war. According to the Angola Press Agency, Huambo Province Governor, Fernando Faustino Muteka announced the reconstruction on a visit to Chinhama commune. Work on the project will include rebuilding the dam, powerhouse, small substation and transport lines. The project is expected to cost in excess of US$20M and will produce at least 10MW once complete. For More Information Click Here Uganda: Power Cuts to Go-Museveni President Yoweri Museveni yesterday commissioned a 20MW power plant in Tororo. The plant can light the whole of Kampala, Mukono and Entebbe. The USD20m-plant, that will use heavy-fuel oil to produce electricity, is owned by Electro-Maxx, the first local independent power producer. Patrick Bitature, the Uganda Investments Authority chairman, owns the plant. The President, who was speaking in Swahili, said although the plant was small, he expected more investors to put their money in electricity generation. Energy minister Hilary Onek said the capacity of the plant would increase to 50MW. Energy experts say the plant will boost power supply and accessibility, create jobs, reduce poverty and improve the quality of life. The President also opened a food processing factory and commissioned the construction of a dry in-land port at Malaba border. The food factory, SEBA Foods, is a subsidiary of the Export Trading Group, which has branches across East and Central Africa. For More Information Click Here Hydropower now the fastest growing fuel source 2002, hydropower ousted coal last year as the fastest growing fuel in the world. Hydropower took its place, after the OECD demand for coal dropped by 10, 4% in 2009 – the steepest decline on record, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. This was after China accounted for 46,9% of global coal consumption, while producing 45,6% of global supplies during 2009, the BP report said. The US accounted for 15, 8% of production, while South Africa represented 4, 1% of global coal production. World primary energy consumption, including oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear and hydro power – fell by 1,1% in 2009. This was the first drop since 1982. Energy use in OECD countries declined by 5% - the biggest ever fall. The BP report said the significant demand shrinkages for coal in OECD states and the former Soviet Union were owing to the recession and competitively priced natural gas. For More Information Click Here South Africa's first, specialized, private equity clean technology fund raises USD94 Million South Africa’s first, specialized, private equity clean technology fund, Evolution One Fund (“Evolution One”), has reached its Final Closing milestone having raised ZAR700 million (USD94 million) in capital from local and foreign investors, including supranational and sovereign wealth funds. This capital will be dedicated to equity investments into a suite of clean technology projects and enterprises including new energy and environment focused technologies located in South Africa and across Southern African Development Community (“SADC”) countries. Consensus Business Group (”Consensus”), the London-based advisor to a Family Trust, has played a leading role in establishing and advising the fund and, as founding cornerstone investor, has secured the involvement and participation of seven other leading international organizations. For More Information Click Here The World Bank approved a USD330 million loan to Kenya to expand access to electricity in the East African nation, the Washington-based lender said. The loan has been approved under a project of more than USD1.4 billion being invested in the electricity industry by the Kenyan government, the World Bank and other development partners to strengthen the nation’s foundations for economic growth and competitiveness, Zutt said. Kenya had scheduled power cuts between Aug. 6 and Oct. 22 last year after low water levels in its hydro-generation dams cut capacity to about 30 percent. It plans to build power plants to generate 1,500 megawatts by 2019 after drought reduced supplies from hydropower plants, which generate about 60 percent of its electricity, according Kenya Power & Lighting Ltd., the nation’s monopoly power distributor. The World Bank has invested USD160 million in Kenya’s energy industry since 2004 to increase geothermal generation, improve electricity distribution and implement electrification programs to support economic growth and reduce regional disparities, the statement said. For More Information Click Here South Africa could require 40 000 megawatts over the next 20 years South Africa could require about 40 000 megawatts of new electricity capacity over the next 20 years, Nelisiwe Magubane, the director-general of the Department of Energy, said yesterday. Magubane, however, said that this was a modest target considering that countries such as China were bringing on stream about 40 000MW of electricity capacity each year. She was speaking at a two-day stakeholder consultation on the integrated resource plan 2010 (IRP2010). This plenary session is a public forum involving energy stakeholders who are interested in the process. It marked the beginning of a series of consultations on the medium-term future of electricity infrastructure in South Africa. Magubane rejected calls for the cancellation of the construction of the R142 billion Kusile power station on the grounds that it was becoming very expensive to build. Kusile is being built by Eskom. For More Information Click Here Think tank attacks west as 'out of touch' on Africa An influential British think tank has warned the West that it will lose out to emerging nations unless it replaces its "humanitarian" approach to Africa with a more strategic focus on diplomatic and trade relations. In a major report published on Thursday, the London-based Chatham House says the emerging economies of Asia, Latin America and Africa are finding commercial and political opportunities in Africa that are being overlooked by the continent's traditional partners. Chatham House is the name under which the Royal Institute of International Affairs operates. The author of the report, Tom Cargill, Chatham House's Africa programme assistant director, says countries such as the United Kingdom fail to engage seriously with Africa diplomatically, and rely too heavily on "aid policies that rarely deliver influence" and on "historical ties that are fading." For More Information Click Here Global power generators competing with Eskom for SA coal Eskom MD of Primary Energy, Dan Marokane, warned that the increased export of high-quality coal from South Africa which left the country’s power utility with poorer quality coal and lead to power generation efficiency losses could cause maintenance issues now and in the long term. South Africa exported about 25% of its coal output, making it the world’s fourth-largest exporter. Marokane said that there was competition between local and international power generators to buy South African coal. Marokane added that the coal exports from South Africa might be higher, if not for the restricted capacity on the rail line to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT). The coal lines could only transport 70-million tons a year of coal, while the RBCT had a 91-million-ton a year capacity. Marokane again warned that South Africa would face power constraints between 2011 and 2013 and again between 2018 and 2024. For More Information Click Here Initiative to green the FIFA 2010 World Cup A major initiative to green the FIFA 2010 World Cup and reduce carbon emissions is underway in the host country South Africa. The initiative is a result of a partnership between the Global Environment Facility, the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, and the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, DEA. Together, the DEA, the Department of Energy, Department of Tourism, the Central Energy Fund, the power utility Eskom and the Local Organizing Committee, have identified five carbon offset projects that will help to offset travelers' emissions. The projects include solar cookers, soil composting, LED energy efficient lighting retrofit, wind energy and domestic fire lighting. The identified offset projects will be attached to a carbon calculator, which will enable travelers to calculate and offset their emissions against an offset project of their choice. The six participating host cities are: City of Tshwane (Pretoria), Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (Port Elizabeth), Polokwane Local Municipality, Rustenburg Local Municipality and Manguang Local Municipality (Bloemfontein). Of the 32 countries that have qualified for the World Cup tournament, six are from Africa South Africa, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon and Algeria. For More Information Click Here Nigeria: Small and medium capacity hydropower projects to be developed in Nigeria Nigeria’s government has created a new committee to focus on the development of small and medium capacity hydro power projects in the country. According to local media reports, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Small and Medium Scale Hydroelectric Power Development has been charged with mapping out clear strategies to harness the potential of projects already identified throughout the country. Members of the committee have been selected from the Federal Ministries of Power, Water Resources and the Environment, as well as the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), according to recent media reports. For More Information Click Here Uganda: Hydropower to boost Uganda’s power supply Due to rising investment in the energy sector and fast-growing demand, Uganda expects electricity generation to grow by 8.6 percent in 2010, mostly through hydropower. East Africa's third largest economy boasts one of the region's fastest economic growth rates, and the flow of foreign investment has accelerated following the discovery of commercial oil deposits in the west of the country around Lake Albert. The state-run Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) said three mini-hydro power stations are due to come online this year, injecting an additional 33 megawatts (MW) into the grid and pushing the national electricity output at peak up to 413 MW, from 380.3 MW currently. According to Johnson Kwesigabo, ERA's Acting Executive Director, all the extra power that they’ll bring to the grid this year is from hydro, which is far cheaper and this will strengthen their overall sector objective of lowering power tariffs to the most minimum level possible. Uganda's energy sector has been plagued by frequent supply outages, and has been constrained by weak and ageing generation infrastructure, little investment and imprudent planning. The country endured its worst electricity crisis in 2006, when generation capacity plummeted to less than half caused by a prolonged drought that eroded water levels in Lake Victoria and cut output from its main hydropower facilities at Jinja, on the Nile. For More Information Click Here Mozambique: Mozambique utility awards grid study for linking new hydro projects A USD3.3 million contract for the study of a transmission backbone system to deliver power from proposed new hydro and thermal power plants to southern Mozambique has been awarded to Vattenfall Power Consultant and Norconsult AS by EDM (Electricidade de Mocambique). With funding from the World Bank, Mozambique plans to develop an integrated transmission system designed to handle increased capacity from several large power projects in Tete Province expected to total 7,000 megawatts. Under the recently-awarded contract, the firms are to perform a technical and economic feasibility study for the Mozambican Integrated Transmission Backbone System, called the CESUL Transmission Project. The work is to take about ten months. For More Information Click Here Zambia: Itezhi Tezhi hydropower project to kick-off in July Construction work on the USD240M Itezhi Tezhi hydro power project will start in July. The 120MW project, which is being developed by a joint venture of Zambian utility Zesco and Tata Africa Holdings, was originally planned to start early this year, but will now begin in July following delays in securing finance according to Project Director, Robert Nsamba. In early January it was announced that the Export and Import Bank of India has agreed a USD50M loan with the Zambian government for development of Itezhi Tezhi. The EBRD and the African Development Bank are also in negotiations for additional funding. Operations at the scheme are expected to begin in 2014. For More Information Click Here Africa: African Development Bank backing Gilgel Gibe III The African Development Bank (AFDB) has backed the Gilgel Gibe III project in southern Ethiopia and says it cannot be stopped, despite growing worldwide protests against the construction of this massive hydroelectric power project. Last week, a group of international campaigners have launched a new movement, seeking a stop to the country’s immense dam project on Omo river, arguing that its construction will lead to devastation on the livelihoods of about half a million people living in Ethiopia and Kenya. The African Development Bank however argued that the dam would instead improve the lives of people living downstream directly and indirectly and the project should go ahead with or without international assistance. The Omo River is the primary source of Kenya’s famous Lake Turkana and Friends of the Lake and a number of concerned groups strongly argue that construction of the giant dam would reduce the flow of water to lake Turkana endangering the lives of some 300,000 people who directly depend on it for their survival; claims the African development bank rejected. According to experts, the Gibe projects will guarantee the production of the same amount of renewable and clean energy as that of two average size nuclear plants, and this will enable the sustainable development of the areas. The Africa Development Bank along with the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and the Italian government was one among these potential international funders, the international campaigners urged last week not to support the project. The construction of Gibe III Dam was launched in 2006 with an estimated cost of 1.4 Billion Euros. Up on completion in 2012, the dam will generate 1,800 MW of electricity, making it Africa’s second largest power dam. For More Information Click Here Rwanda: Rwanda reopened hydropower plant after 18 years Following two years of intense renovation and refurbishment, a micro hydro power plant was reopened in the Rutsiro District (Murunda Sector) in Rwanda. The plants have not been operational for the last 18 years. The 100kw/hr plant set up under the Private Public Partnership scheme was officially opened by State Minister in charge of Energy and Water, Eng Colette Ruhamya. The plant was refurbished by the Rural Energy Promotion (REPRO) with funding from the Dutch government, Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Ruhamya emphasized that energy is a very essential aspect in the country's economic development and expressed gratitude that the local population had played a big role in having the plant overhauled. As a way conserving the project, the minister called for the need to protect the environment, saying it would also help in achieving the objects of the country's Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS). She revealed that the construction of two other plants in Rusizi and Rusumo were underway and that the government was working closely with banks to avail funds to ensure that energy rollout in the country shifts from the current 10% to 16% by 2012 and 35% in 2020. For More Information Click Here Uganda: Hydro electricity to be extended to Uganda’s rural areas The World Bank has pledged a sh3b grant to fund the rural electrification programme in Kasese district. The programme will be implemented by a Kasese-based firm, Kilembe Investments. The World Bank will provide 70% of the sh4b needed to extend hydro electricity to rural areas. According to Gideon Mujungu, Kilembe Finance and Administration Manager, communities will raise 30% of the total cost of the project. He added that the district local government, under the Belgian Technical Co-operation (BTC), had pledged to pay most of the community contribution BTC is undertaking a sh10b poverty reduction programme with Kasese district local government for three years. Last week, Mujungu said, community leaders signed commitment agreements with Uganda Rural Electrification Programme in Ntinda, a Kampala suburb, pledging to raise the 30% contribution. For More Information Click Here Angola: Angola to re-construct hydropower project The Cavango small hydroelectric project in Angola will be re-constructed this year. The project suffered extensive damage during the civil war. According to the Angola Press Agency, Huambo Province Governor, Fernando Faustino Muteka announced the reconstruction on a visit to Chinhama commune. Work on the project will include rebuilding the dam, powerhouse, small substation and transport lines. The project is expected to cost in excess of US$20M and will produce at least 10MW once complete. For More Information Click Here SAWEA’s research – based on international best practice – reveals that renewable energy could provide 100 TWh of electricity, or 25% of South Africa’s consumption, by 2025. The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) launched its submission to the Government’s Integrated Resource Plan consultation with a call for the country to adopt a binding target of 25% of all its power consumption to come from renewable energy by 2025. SAWEA deputy chairman, Mark Tanton, says: “South Africa’s electricity market is at a cross roads and the challenges facing policy makers are formidable. Yet, this country is ideally suited to renewable energy development with abundant wind power and solar resources. In other parts of the world, they have to go offshore or import renewable energy from other countries”. SAWEA’s research – based on international best practice – reveals that renewable energy could provide 100 TWh of electricity, or 25% of South Africa’s consumption, by 2025. The bulk of this power would be delivered by wind energy. The development of this renewable resource will create up to 40,000 new jobs, with at least 12,000 in rural areas, including Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape where unemployment and job creation pose serious challenges. For More Information Click Here Africa: Clean energy for Africa An announcement this week confirms that the World Bank and International Finance Corporation have allocated USD12 million for clean energy development in Africa. The “Lighting Africa” programme focuses on low-cost renewable energy sources distribution. According to the programme, 700 million African will be without electricity by 2030. Says Patrick Avato, programme director: "Today in Africa, people spend more than USD10-billion a year on kerosene," The programme expects to help with sales of 500 000 off grid lighting products by 2012. Lighting Africa is active in Kenya and Ghana with pilot programme underway in these countries. It aims to have 2.5 million people in Africa change to renewable alternatives by 2012. For More Information Click Here Uganda: Power boosts Uganda's economy Over the past five years, Uganda has almost doubled power output in order to keep up with increasing demand. Uganda now produces some 519MW, up from 265MW previously. Uganda’s approach to tackling electricity demand has gone from one of ‘chasing’ demand to one of approaching it head on by attracting local, foreign, public and private investment. New power plants have been installed in Tororo, Namanve and Mutundwe in Kampala. Additional hydro generation capacity of 480MW is available at Jinja and there are plans for power generation from small hydro-power plants is in the pipeline. While some of the projects are near completion, others are awaiting commissioning. Uganda relies on hydro-energy to meet 90% of its electricity needs, but drought has cut capacity at the main power dams in Jinja. However, due to the change in strategy, the country hopes to increase power generation from other renewable sources. Sugar companies, Kakira and Kinyara, are producing electricity from cane wastes. For More Information Click Here Kenya: WB approves USD330 million for Kenya Kenya has received approval for a USD330 million loan from the World Bank to expand the Kenyan national grid and support geothermal power generation. Kenya is seeking to diversify its sources of electricity and hopes to lean more on geothermal and wind energy in future. The loan is a part of USD1, 4-billion being invested in the electricity sector by the government, the World Bank and other development partners. According to the World Bank, the lack of reliable energy lowers the annual sales revenues of Kenyan firms by about 7% and reduces Kenya's growth rate by about 1,5% annually. The country's main electricity generator, KenGen, generates about 1 000 MW of electricity - 80% of Kenyan demand - with 700 MW of that coming from dams. It was forced to shut down a 40 MW hydro generation plant last year by drought, causing outages. Officials estimate Kenya can generate 7 000 MW from the vast reserves of steam that lie under the Great Rift Valley running across the country. Kenya plans to raise the electricity generated from geothermal to a minimum of 5 000 MW by 2030 For More Information Click Here Mozambique: Minerals and Energy Minister Dipuo Peters has overturned months of stonewalling by Eskom Peters confirmed for the first time in a written response to a parliamentary question that the company paid an average of 12.3c a kilowatt hour for Eskom power supplied to its Mozal aluminium smelter in the year to March. She said Anglo American also paid well below the production cost of 24.3c a kilowatt hour. The contract with Motraco, the Mozambique company that carries power to BHP Billiton's Mozal aluminium smelter, was signed in 1997 and expires in 2025. It is being renegotiated, but officials have refused to say what the new prices will be. Ina Wilken, of the National Consumer Forum, told Business Time that this was outrageous. Renegotiation of the contracts was intended to be finalized by tomorrow. Eskom could not be reached for a comment. For More Information Click Here Belgian based ELECTRAWINDS recently completed the erection of the first of 25 wind turbines within the COEGA Industrial Development Zone. The equipment used is the VESTAS V90 turbine producing 1.8MW. Electrawinds Africa project developer Emil Unger told ESI-Africa that the project, which was the first of a larger 25-turbine farm, would be officially opened by the end of May. They will be supplying the Nelson Mandela Stadium with free electricity for the duration of the World Cup games, totaling approximately 300, 000 KWh of free green renewable wind energy, Unger said. The remaining 24 turbines will follow during the first half of 2011. They will either use 1.8 MW or 3 MW turbines, depending on the data they collect from their wind measuring mast on site at COEGA. The total installed power will be thus be between 45 MW and 73.8 MW and the total investment close to R1.2 Billion. The electricity generated by the wind farm will be fed into the national grid and distributed by NMBM to households within the area. A Power Purchase Agreement is being finalized on a willing buyer / willing seller basis. The details of this will be announced shortly. For More Information Click Here World: Impose carbon tax on developing countries says EU report The European Union should charge a "carbon tax" on developing countries which do not make efforts to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a study released Monday said. According to the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) "a CO2 border tax or import tax would increase global welfare" by providing an incentive to lower emissions. The EU has taken the lead in the fight against climate change, by pledging to cut 20 per cent off its emissions by 2020, as compared to 1990 levels, and by introducing the Emission Trading System (ETS), a cap-and-trade scheme which forces firms to buy polluting permits at auction. The carbon tax would fall on imports from "countries that do not have a cap and trade system or equivalent measures," CEPS underlined. The US would be exempt, as it is expected to introduce its own version of a cap-and-trade system in the near future. The idea, however, remains controversial. EU's Climate Action commissioner, Connie Hedegaard, admitted it was a "tool in the toolkit" of climate change policies, but appeared unconvinced about its feasibility. For More Information Click Here
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updated on:2nd September 2010
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