Friday, 22 July

Dear <<First Name>>

This week, I wanted to tell you about Godfrey Madisi, one of dozens of business owners benefiting from a prosperous rural development project in Tanzania that we are privileged to support through our work as the REPP investment manager. 

Godfrey’s flourishing carpentry workshop in Igoda village in the Mufindi District of Tanzania’s Iringa region is the largest of its kind in the local area, with the capacity to produce up to 1,000 tables and chairs per month. As a result of the business’s continued success (it recently received an order from neighbouring village schools for 3,000 tables and 3,000 chairs), the carpenter has become a major employer in the area with a staff of 30 permanent employees. That’s brilliant news both for Godfrey and the community. 

Godfrey also runs an industrial operation milling and packaging maize flour for onward sale in the Mafinga town area, as well as providing flour directly to local village schools. This second business employs a further five permanent members of staff. 

Godfrey’s tale of entrepreneurship is one of sustainable development in action and is a reminder of how the projects REPP supports are delivering genuine impact and improving livelihoods on the ground in Africa.  

Cheers 

Geoff Sinclair

Managing Director, Camco Clean Energy

West Africa

Benin: Country’s first solar power plant goes operational (Afrik21)
- The government is inaugurating the Illoulfin solar PV plant, located in the Pobè, Plateau commune with a capacity of 25MWp.

Ghana: Governnment to announce location of new nuclear site (AllAfrica)
- The country’s Deputy Minister of Energy, William Owuraku Aidoo, has hinted that the plant’s site and development vendor will be named imminently, following the recent submission of a Nuclear Power Ghana report on prospective sites and vendors for review and approval.

Guinea-Bissau: AfDB approves funding for electricity access (Afrik21)
- The USD66 million in funding will be used to support the government in strengthening energy access in six towns and the surrounding areas. 

Ivory Coast: CI-Energies renews contract with Aera (Afrik21)
- The contract concerns the monetisation of the carbon credit of the Soubré hydroelectric power station located in the south-west of the country.

East Africa

Djibouti: Amea Power partners with Sovereign Wealth Fund of Djibouti (Afrik21)
- The UAE-based IPP has signed agreements to build a 30MWp solar PV plant in the framework of a public-private partnership.

Kenya: BasiGo selected as one of the Keeling Curve Prize winners (CleanTechnica)
- The Kenyan e-mobility startup will be awarded USD25,000 to support its goal of revolutionising the public transportation sector by providing bus owners with a cost-effective electric alternative to diesel. 

Kenya: Country launches climate change calculator (Imperial)
- A consortium has created the Kenya Carbon Emission Reduction Tool (KCERT 2050), a bespoke energy and emissions model intended to build a pathway that meets Kenya’s climate goals.

Kenya: Rural communities receive training on the benefits of renewables (ESI Africa)
- The Green Africa Foundation has rolled out an initiative to provide education on how to adopt clean and energy-saving cooking solutions as a way of mitigating climate change.
 
Kenya: Unit 6 of Olkaria I plant commissioned (Afrik21)
- The KenGen geothermal facility is located in the Rift Valley and has a capacity of 83.3 MWe, which is fed into the national power grid.

Rwanda: Over 100 Rwandans to graduate in nuclear science (New Times)
- The students are expected to graduate next month, which is being seen as a major boost for the industry.

Southern Africa

South Africa: Country to house one of the world’s largest solar and battery facilities (CapeTownEtc)
- Scatec has begun construction of the facility in the Northern Cape, which is expected to provide some much-needed relief for the buckling South African power system.

South Africa: Eskom’s funding requirement to swell, predicts S&P Global (Daily Maverick)
- The ratings agency has stated that the national utility will likely “come under pressure” in 2023, with an extremely large funding requirement of ZAR45 billion. 

South Africa: Government proposes forming second national utility (Daily Maverick)
- Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, has suggested setting up another state-owned electricity public utility to compete with Eskom, and President Cyril Ramaphosa agrees.

South Africa: Lafarge launches low-carbon concrete (Afrik21)
- The Franco-Swiss group's South African subsidiary has developed “EcoPact”, a new range of cement for eco-construction.

Africa - other

Algeria: Société Générale funds LafargeHolcim’s climate projects (Afrik21)
- The two have just signed a USD9.4 million financing agreement, which will contribute to the cement company’s carbon neutrality.

Algeria: Solar project expected to produce first power by 2023 (Renewables Now)
- Algeria’s 1GW Solar 1,000 initiative is being overseen by state-owned Shaems and includes a 30MW solar park that is to be built in the Bechar province.

C&I: Schneider partners with SolarX (Afrik21)
- The alliance aims to integrate technology solutions into solar PV systems deployed for commercial and industrial customers across Africa.

Climate finance: Persistent raises USD10 million (CleanTechnica)
- The African climate venture builder has announced the equity raise in its Series C round, which will allow it to continue to expand its climate-friendly ventures. 

Climate finance: GCF approves investment in FMO and Climate Fund Managers initiative (FMO)
- The GCF Board has approved USD145 million in funding for Climate Investor 2, which aims to accelerate private sector investment in low-emission and climate-resilient water, sanitation and ocean projects across 19 countries.

Morocco: Finance secured for wind upgrade (RenewsBIZ)
- The owner of the Koudia Al Baida wind farm, one of Africa’s oldest, has secured EUR44 million in funding from the European Banks for Reconstruction and Development to repower the facility and double its capacity to 100MW.

Renewables: Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power sell Lekela Power (Power Technology)
- The two companies have signed a deal to sell the African renewable energy provider for approximately USD1.5 billion to Infinity Groups and Africa Finance Corporation.

Renewables: Acumen launches investment initiative (African Review)
- The Pioneer Energy Investment Initiative: Powering Livelihoods Using Solar (PEII+) is a five-year, USD25 million programme that will invest early-stage capital in companies that provide clean energy-powered appliances to microentrepreneurs and smallholder farmers in India and East and West Africa.

Pacific

Australia: Octopus launches renewables fund (RenewsBIZ)
- The AUD10 billion platform is open to institutional and wholesale investors to help manage the country’s energy transition.

New Zealand: Central and local government must work together, minister claims (RNZ)
- At a recent annual Local Government conference, minister Nanaia Mahuta stated that all levels of government and communities must work together to respond to severe weather and the escalating climate crisis.

New Zealand: Major changes are expected in the energy sector (RNZ)
- The country’s electricity sector is undergoing a transition as companies touting different technologies vie for market share as fossil fuel use declines.

Rest of the world

Clean energy: Most renewables are now cheaper than coal (CleanTechnica)
- Article explores how the majority of renewable energy installed in G20 countries last year had lower costs than even the world's cheapest coal power, despite supply chain issues and economic inflation.

Clean energy: Report explores energy “super basins” of the future (Offshore)
- A study by Wood MacKenzie claims that these “basins” must deliver on three key criteria: abundant resources, access to low-cost clean energy and hub-scale carbon capture and storage opportunities.

Clean energy: Renewables remain a long-term leader (Forbes)
- Despite the current bear market, from March 2020 till present day clean energy has stayed strong as many industries undergo long-term shifts towards greener technologies.

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