ENERGY NEWS
Morocco
Ghana
Ethiopia
Construction of major solar project set to kick off
The African Center for Energy Policy champions for wind energy
China to construct mega wind farm
Construction of
Morocco’s
major solar project is about to start the country’s leading electricity ONEE
utility
has
company
announced.
The
200 MW Noor Argana solar power plant being carried out by Moroccan leading electricity utility company ONEE is set to be launched. According to the company officials the project tender will be completed within the time frame that was set. The official added that ONEE is expected to launch its feasibility study for the project whose final capacity will range from 200 MW
The African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) is urging Ghana to turn to wind power as the solution to reverse the lingering energy crisis in the country. Some of Ghana factories and businesses have collapsed due to the prolonged power crisis. In 2015, the power crisis in Ghana was at its peak whereby over 900MW of power had to be shed. A Turkish Karpower barge which is expected to add over 200MW of power to improve Ghana’s situation arrived late last year. However, some parts of the country have still been experiencing frequent power cuts, a clear indication that the county’s power situation not stable yet. According to Mr. Greenstreet of ACEP, wind energy is cheaper and easier to operate. “Volta River lies between 2 comparable mountain range,” said Greenstreet. “Installing wind turbines in this corridor will utilize wind energy,” he added. A standard wind turbine at an average height of 120m with a diameter of 85m can generate 3MW of energy per unit. Turbines installed at a distance of 300m triangular can generate 9000MW of power believed to meet Ghana’s energy demands. Ishmael Ackah, Head of Research at ACEP revealed that wind can be the solution to the unreliable fuel supply for Ghana’s thermal plants.
development
bank
KfW, the European Union’s European Investment Bank and French Agence francaise de developpement
(AFD).
Once
up and running, Noor Argana is estimated to annually produce 320 GWh of electricity while saving 204,090 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The call for prequalification bids for NoorArgana will take place at the end of 2016 or at the start of 2017. The contract for the development will use the engineering procurement construction (EPC) model. 4
farm in Ethiopia. The wind farm will be constructed in Aisha area of Somali Region. The new wind farm which will have 80 turbines will each have the capacity to generate a whopping 1.5MW. It will be constructed 20km at the Djibouti-Ethiopian border. On the agreement that was signed by both EEP and DECL, the wind farm is approximated to cost of US$ 257m. But funds for 85
public
said to be in its final stages in
owned
(EEP) is set to construct a wind
Misikir
Meanwhile, the company is
three include the top German
Ethiopian Electric Power Utility
by the government.
the exact sites for the project.
350 million (USD 315.5m). The
(DECL) in conjunction with The
15percent will be taken care of
in western Morocco to determine
price tag now stands at EUR
Limited
bank. However the remaining
Chichaoua and Boumalne areas
foot the bill for the project whose
Corporation
secured from the Chinese EXIM
look into the Tensift, Errhamna,
financing institutions to help
Electric
per cent of the project will be
to 225 MW soon. The study will
negotiating with top European
A Chinese company, Dongfang
Uganda
Construction of oil refinery in new twist Construction of an oil refinery in Uganda has taken a new turn following a failed deal with RT Global Resources. However, the development is significantly likely to affect the general oil production timeline of 2022. Meanwhile, Uganda is negotiating with South Korea’s SK Engineering, which is the alternative bidder. After the signing of final agreements the project committee will be formed. SK Engineering had lost the initial bid. However it was a strong competitor.
“They came short of key government requirements
including contribution to the private share and operating plan.” This is according to Kaliisa Kabagambe, Permanent Secretary in the Energy and Mineral Development Ministry. The Ugandan government initiated talks with RT Global in March 2015.The final agreement was scheduled to be signed last month in June. However, RT Global made additional demands on the government. It sought to reopen and renegotiate issues that had already been agreed on by both parties. The RT Global Resources consortium members are: VTB Capital PLC, Telconet Capital Ltd Partnership, GS Engineering and Construction Corporation and Tatnet JSC.
Negasha,
relations
EEP’s
leader
said
that the wind farm is expected to be completed in 18 months time.“The project is programmed to be concluded 18 months from the time of commencement and hopes are high that the contracted company can complete it on suitable time,” said Mr. Negasha. This initiative is part of the second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTPII) of the energy sector. So in this plan the country wants to realize 10,000MW of energy on its national grid. Dongfang Electric
Corporation
Limited
specializes in power equipment manufacturing and international power
projects
that
include
thermal, hydro, nuclear, wind, gas
turbines
and
combined
cycle power plants. It has so far recorded an annual production capacity of 35,000MW. August 2016