BN Africa

African solar power developer for the commercial and industrial sector (C&I), Rensource Energy, announced the signing of an additional 1.4 MW worth of projects in Nigeria to be constructed in early 2023. These projects will bring Rensource Energy’s project portfolio to 14.6 MW under construction and 70 MW in the pipeline.

The new projects range in size from 300 kWp to 700 kWp, include storage capacity and reflect a strong demand for sustainable, affordable and reliable power in Nigeria going into 2023.

Rensource Energy’s ability to deliver innovative systems tailored to customer needs is reflected in the diversity of clients these installations will serve, ranging from pharmaceuticals to hospitality and agriculture.

As interest rates continue to rise in Nigeria, fuel costs soar and electricity access slowly expands, the C&I sector will continue to seek affordable state-of-the-art power solutions to meet their needs. Rensource is the service provider of choice across Nigeria’s key growth sectors, given its superior ability to design, fund, and execute solar projects of all sizes.

Prince Ojeabulu, CEO of Rensource Energy, commented that, “2023 will be a big year for Rensource, and we are thrilled to start the year strongly with 1.4 MW worth of new projects signed. Moreover, our team has proven that it can adapt to the needs of any customer, be it a large pharmaceutical processing facility or a popular tourist hotel. We look forward to working with our industry-leading construction partners to execute these projects in record time.”

The governments of Sweden and Norway will disburse a total of US$33.5 million (€33.3 million) for the second phase of the Mozambican government’s “Energy for All” programme, according to a joint statement issued last week.

“In this second phase, 400,000 new connections will be made via the National Electrical Grid [on grid] and a further 90,000 via isolated systems [off grid], providing access to sustainable energy to a total of 2.2 million people,” the statement said.

The amount will be disbursed under an agreement signed on Thursday with the World Bank, which has been supporting the government programme launched in 2018 to intensify energy access in Mozambique.

“For this phase, Norway and Sweden will contribute $17.5 million [€16.3 million] and $16 million [€16.5 million], respectively. This funding is in addition to the amounts made available in Phase I, bringing the total funding from the two Nordic countries to the ‘Energy For All’ programme to some 65 million dollars [€60.7 million],” the document said.

The agreements for the new funding were signed in Maputo by the ambassadors of Norway, Haakon Gram-Johannessen, and Sweden, Mette Sunnergren, in the presence of Mozambique’s minister of mineral resources and energy, Carlos Zacarias.

Data from state-owned utility Eletricidade de Moçambique (EDM) indicates that since its launch in 2018, the programme has made just over one million new connections.

By 2024, the Mozambican government aims to reach two million new connections, raising from 34% to 64% of the population (of about 30 million inhabitants) with energy at home.

More than 15,000 kg/month of coffee, produced by the Angolan VEMS company, will begin to be exported, as of March this year, to European markets.

The pledge came from the company’s manager, Vladmir Satula, who said that the initiative is intended to boost the export diversification process and the country’s image overseas.

The plan results from a partnership between the firm and the Angola – Spain Trade Chamber, the manager said at the 2nd edition of the exhibition and parade of jewelry with embedded diamonds from Angola, held Thursday.

Satula clarified that the respective exports will be made through the supply of coffee to the international business group AZ, which distributes this product to large commercial areas in Europe.

With a billion dollars investment, this company produced close to 100, 000 kilograms of coffee in the 2022 campaign, which corresponded to approximately eight exportable containers.

In this period, stressed the source, the revenue obtained stood at around 50% return.

The businessman predicts to expand his production to around a million kilograms/year and reach other international markets, as part of the 2022/2027 strategic plan.