Serengeti Energy has brought online 21 MW AC PV in Malawi; Niger’s RANAA gets $25 million loan from OPEC Fund for 10 MW solar plant; SolarX to provide solar power for Orange Côte d’Ivoire; Nuru Sasu raises $1.5 million for off-grid solar hybrid in DRC; Rgreen and Echosys secure €87.5 million for on- and off-grid solar for C&I in Africa.
21 MW AC solar plant online in Malawi: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) focused independent renewable energy power producer Serengeti Energy Limited has energized a 21 MW AC solar power plant in Malwai as phase I of what will be a 38 MW AC project with another 17 MW AC coming up under phase II. Nkhotakhota 1 project was switched on, on February 19, 2023 and plans to reach commercial operations in the coming weeks. Previously called responsAbility, Serengeti is backed by KfW, Norfund, Proparco, Swedfund among others as its shareholders. It operates 49 MW of 7 hydro power plants in the SSA and targets to add 300 MW to its portfolio by 2030.
OPEC backing for solar in Niger: The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) has committed to a $25 million loan for Niger Solar Plant Development and Electricity Access Improvement Project (RANAA) for it to support development of 10 MW Dosso Solar Power Plant. This capacity is part of 40 MW solar that RANAA plans to back as 3 solar power plants in Maradi, Dosso and Diffa regions. It also includes extension of new transmission lines to connect cities in Niger’s south and in the capital Niamey. OPEC Fund said it is joining forces with the African Development Bank (AfDB), Power Africa, the Green Climate Fund and the Government of Niger for a total financing of US$167 million to help Niger improve its electrification rates and expand access to electricity.
Solar for Orange in Côte d’Ivoire: Solar energy company SolarX will set up solar power plants for the local subsidiary of French telecommunications company Orange Côte d’Ivoire to power the latter’s 2 large data centers in West Africa. One of the data centers is in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, and the other in Burkina Faso’s Ouagadougou.
PV mini-grid operator raises $1.5 million: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) based solar PV mini grid company Nuru Sasu has secured $1.5 million finance from a host of investors to develop 13.7 MW of isolated solar-hybrid grids in the country. It needs to complete the work by mid-2024 in Goma, Kindu and Bunia regions of the country. According to local media reports, the financing came as part of its series B funding round from E3 Capital, Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) and Proparco.
€87.5 million for solar in Africa: French fund manager Rgreen Invest and investment advisor Echosys Invest have achieved 1st closing of their new fund, the Afrigreen Debt Impact Fund. It brings to them €87.5 million which they plan to use to finance on- and off-grid solar power plants for small and medium-sized commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers in Africa. Funding has come from European Investment Bank (EIB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), itself including a commitment from the Finland-IFC Blended Finance for Climate Program, the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) and PROPARCO (French DFI, subsidiary of Agence française de développement Group). The partners say French private banks Societe Generale and BNP Paribas complete this first funding round. Rgreen and Echosys aim to raise a total of €100 million from development finance institutions and private investors for Afrigreen.
