Seychelles: China To Provide $11 Million Funding For Renewable Energy Projects
China is supporting the production of renewable energy in the Seychelles archipelago with a package of 11 million dollars.
This support is important in this island country, which is banking on solar off-grid to supply electricity to its 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean.
China is multiplying its investments in renewable energies in Africa.
The Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, made the announcement during a visit to Seychelles.
In this financing, 4.6 million Dollars will be destined for the construction of small off-grid solar power stations.
These off-grids should enable several islands of the archipelago to become autonomous in terms of electricity.
This is the case of Curieuse Island located one kilometre north of the large island of Praslin.
According to Flavien Joubert, the Seychelles Minister of Agriculture, Climate Change and the Environment, the other part of the Chinese funding will enable the installation of solar panels on the roofs of public buildings, particularly schools.
“Both countries are working on the same issues such as climate change and the environment. China is now focusing on greener and more sustainable development. It’s the same for the Seychelles, because we cannot opt for rapid development because it would lead to the destruction of the environment,” says Minister Flavien Joubert.
Less active in renewable energy projects a few years ago, China intends to catch up by increasing investment in this very dynamic sector in Africa.
Beijing is moreover solicited by some African countries like Angola, which has just officially launched an appeal to Chinese investors for clean energy projects in this Central African country.
Ghana: Scrap Stabilisation Levy- COPEC Tells President Akufo-Addo
One of Ghana’s downstream sector advocacy groups, Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), is calling on the President of the West African nation to scrap the Stabilization Levy.
The group argues that the levy serves no purpose since Ghana has deregulated its downstream petroleum sector.
Discussing issues affecting the prospects in the energy sector on Energy 101 programme aired on a local radio station, Asaase Radio, in the nation’s capital, the Head of Research and Training Unit at Chamber of Petroleum Consumers-Ghana (COPEC), Benjamin Nsiah said over the years, the stabilisation levy has not been activated in times of hikes in the price of petroleum products, therefore, making the law ineffective and non-beneficial to ordinary consumers.
He further argued that during last year’s Christmas festivities, prices started going up and the government of Ghana should have activated the stabilisation levy to cushion consumers since the impact of Covid-19 had affected the finances of many people but that was not the case.
According to him, since covid-19 was normalising and production in the sector started, it affected demand and supply which also affected price of the product at the international market.
Therefore, this automatically impacted on Ghana’s petroleum prices.
“We at COPEC have been calling for the scrap of the Stabilization Levy because, now we have a deregulated market and it means that our petroleum prices should be able to determine the price for themselves,” he stated.
Mr. Nsiah also argued that per the deregulated policy in operation in Ghana, it does not mean that any time there is a problem with prices of petroleum products, either suppliers or consumers could just advocate triggering of the stabilisation levy to cushion either of them.
“Based on demand and supply, we should be able to determine prices of products so no one or institution sits somewhere and thinks that because we are in a deregulated market, there is a levy called price stabilisation levy so any time we could cushion petroleum suppliers or petroleum consumers, depending on how you look at it with that particular levy,” said Mr. Nsiah.
During the Christmas period, prices of petroleum products in Ghana were increased marginally at the pumps.
Consumers complained about how difficult it was for them to buy the products.
It was for this reason that stakeholders were advocating for the activation of the stabilisation levy to cushion ordinary consumers in such circumstances.
COPEC said the time is due for Ghana to look at that particular price law because it has not been used actually over the years.
The Energy Sector Act is to use the Stabilisation and Recovery Levy as a major source of subsidising the various products, especially for premix fuel and residual fuel in Ghana.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Appoint Minister, One Deputy For Energy Ministry-Creg Afful Suggests To Prez Akufo-Addo
The Managing Editor for energynewsafrica.com, an online portal operated in the Republic of Ghana, Michael Creg Afful has suggested to the President of the West African nation, H.E Nana Akufo-Addo, to appoint a substantive Minister and one deputy to head the Energy Ministry in his second term instead of the three deputies he assigned to the sector in his first term.
President Akufo-Addo secured a second term mandate after the December 7, 2020, Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Ghana.
He was subsequently sworn into office last Thursday and is due to appoint substantive and deputy ministers for his new administration.
Speaking as a panelist on Energy101 programme on Asaase Radio, a local radio station in Accra, capital of Ghana, Creg Afful contended that the Energy Ministry has a number of agencies with competent heads to augment the efforts of the sector minister, so keeping one deputy should not be a challenge to the sector.
“We have the Ghana Gas working. We have GNPC working. We have Energy Commission working. We have NPA working. We have ECG working and we have NEDCO working,” he stressed.
He said all these agencies work to ensure smooth operations of the country’s energy sector, therefore, to cut down on cost, the President needs to appoint a substantive minister and his deputy for the four-year term.
“You know we have a Director In-Charge of Distribution that supervises NEDCo and Electricity of Ghana (ECG). There is also a director in charge of Generation and Transmission. And these departments work to ensure that there is availability of power,” he noted.
Mr. Creg Afful was, based on that, of the view that there is no need to have three deputies in charge of petroleum, power and finance and infrastructure as the country witnessed during the President’s first term.
“We only need one deputy minister because like I said, Petroleum Commission’s CEO is working, VRA’s CEO is working, CEO of GRIDCo is working so why should all these people be working and yet need more? We need a substantive Minister and his deputy,” he suggested strongly.
Most Ghanaians criticised the President for creating and appointing over 130 ministers and their deputies in his first term in office.
Delivering a speech to commence his second term of office, President Akufo-Addo assured the nation of his avowed commitment to working with only hard working people and with reduced ministries, as well as ministers to ensure Ghana’s sustainable development.
Personality Profile: Who Is Bai K. Blyden?
Bai K. Blyden is an electrical engineer by profession and founder of the Strategic Consulting Group BBRM.
He has over the last 34 years contributed his expertise to over forty major and minor power plant projects and their associated interconnections around the world.
These included detailed power plant and transmission systems design engineering, systems and operations planning, project development feasibility assessment oversight and construction management.
Among his more notable assignments, Mr Blyden served as Project Manager on the Calpine team, which planned a 70,000 MW development programme which included EPC oversight.
Within this scope, he also served as a Site Construction Manager for the Emergency Peaker Programme which constructed and commissioned eleven (11x45MW) general electric simple cycle gas turbine units in response to California executive order D-26-01 issued to protect the grid around Silicon Valley at the peak of the 2001 California energy crisis.
GE Calls For Accelerated Deployment Of Renewables & Gas Power To Drive Impactful, Faster DecarbonisationMr Blyden has also worked on large nuclear, hydro and mid to small distributed energy systems having held senior technical consulting and staff positions with various utilities, AE and Manufacturing firms such as TVA; Pacific Gas & Electric; Bechtel, ABB, Cummins, The New York Power Authority, Texas Utilities. He is currently completing the updates on the electrical systems computer models for the 2x940MW Plant Hatch power station at Southern Company as part of the Calculations Design Basis Validation Programme for Configuration Management and Post Fukushima retrofits. An early advocate of an Integrated African Grid, Mr Blyden has presented a conceptual framework and technical analysis for a centralised African Power pool with links to North Africa at the first IEEE Region 8 conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, December 1983. Since then, he has authored several papers on African Energy Development with a particular emphasis on the strategic role of Regional Power Pool Interconnections, Micro Grids and Knowledge development. Towards this end, he has developed The African Power Development Knowledge Engine which is an advanced training and development conceptual framework designed to harness the dynamic results created by linking African technical colleges and universities to current international R&D focused on Power. Mr Blyden earned an MS.EE from Moscow Energetics Institute in Power Systems, Generation and Industrial Distribution Systems, and has been awarded numerous professional development certifications and accreditations. Fluent in multiple languages which include English, French, Russian, Spanish and Arabic, Mr Blyden brings a multicultural mindset and an exceptional relationship building acumen. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and serves as Chair of the IEEE PES International Practices subcommittee for Africa. He serves as a Senior Advisor to Centric Ltd, a commercial startup with 21st century structurally advanced and sustainable green building systems.
World Bank Lends $200m For South African Renewables
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) private-sector arm of the World Bank has supplied a $200 million loan to South African commercial lender Nedbank Group to bolster the latter’s green finance operations and fund renewable energy projects.
The IFC announced the credit line in December and has estimated South Africa offers a $588 billion, ten-year opportunity in “climate smart” renewable energy and urban infrastructure investments.
Arvana Singh, head of sustainable financial solutions for Nedbank, said: “This transaction continues to demonstrate Nedbank’s commitment to engage in alternative climate finance mechanisms. These will further develop markets and support projects which create positive impacts aligned to the United Nations sustainable development goals, in pursuit of Nedbank’s commitment to building a greener and cleaner economy.”
What The U.S. Political Transition Might Mean For Africa Generally And Its Oil And Gas Sector In Particular (Article)Adamou Labara, IFC country manager for South Africa, added: “While the immediate future calls for solutions to the economic damage caused by Covid-19, it is critical that we take this opportunity to rethink the structure of our economies, to build a fairer, more resilient, low-carbon future. Working with our partners to develop a strong climate finance market is an important part of this process.” The South African government has committed to reducing carbon emissions 42% within five years and is aiming to more than double the nation’s power generation capacity by 2030, with renewables supplying “as much as 20% of the mix,” according to a press release issued by the IFC on December 21 to announce the green finance loan.
Scientist Propose Innovative Microgrid Model that Rely On Solar And Hydrogen
A global research team has developed a novel energy deployment model to manage oversupply in remote solar microgrids.
This model utilises hydrogen fuel cells as a backup power generation source.
The team demonstrated the model via the Transient System simulation program (TRNSYS) software.
Their model comprised of solar PV system connected to a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell.
The fuel cells provide power to the system when the load exceeds the energy generated by the PV plant.
Under their model, a 21.4 kW solar array had an annual power yield of 127.3 kW h/m2 under standard conditions.
This combination is capable of producing high-density hydrogen at seven bars according to the scientists.
The researchers conducted the simulations on a system in Beijing over a period of 12 months.
The results indicated that the fuel cell operated at full capacity between March and September, when the PV system had higher energy production.
According to the researchers, the proposed system configuration and sizing will ensure that the annual amount of hydrogen consumed would be equivalent to the annual amount produced.
Details of the research can be found “Efficient photovoltaics-integrated hydrogen fuel cell-based hybrid system: Energy management and optimal configuration,” which was recently published in the Journal of Sustainable Energy.
Report: Gas, Renewables Will Accelerate Energy Transition
Accelerated and strategic deployment of renewables and gas power can change the trajectory for climate change, enabling quick and substantive reductions in emissions, while in parallel continuing to advance the technologies for low or near zero-carbon power generation.
This is according to the latest white paper released by General Electric (GE), entitled Accelerated Growth of Renewables and Gas Power Can Rapidly Change the Trajectory on Climate Change.
GE states that the power industry has a responsibility, and the technical capability to take significant steps to quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help address climate change at scale.
The solution for the power sector is not an either/or proposition between renewables and natural gas, but rather a multi-pronged approach to decarbonisation with renewables and natural gas power at its core.
The paper emphasises the following:
• Addressing climate change must be an urgent global priority, requiring global action
• Additional renewable energy with natural gas, which has the benefits of flexibility and dependable capacity, is the most effective near-term solution to reduce carbon emissions in the energy sector
• Even with rapid growth, renewable energy production is not occurring at a fast-enough pace or scale to deliver the CO2 reductions needed to fight climate change
• Gas power is an affordable, efficient and dispatchable means to complement renewables, with less than 50% of the CO2 emissions compared to coal
• To impact the trajectory of climate change globally, we need accelerated, strategic deployment of renewables and gas power.
Ghana: Ministry Of Energy Launches Distribution Of 500,000 Improved Cook StovesViewed separately, renewables and gas generation technologies each have merits and challenges as a means to address climate change and optimum solutions will differ regionally. Such solutions will depend upon factors such as fuel availability and security, land use constraints, renewable resource availability, and the emphasis a particular region is placing on climate change. Together, their complementary nature offers tremendous potential to address climate change with the speed and scale the world requires.
Pakistan: Power Supply Partially Restored After Nationwide Blackout
Electricity supply in Pakistan is gradually being restored Sunday after the country’s national power grid experienced a major breakdown, leaving millions of people in darkness.
All major cities, including the capital Islamabad, were hit.
“The system is stable now and electricity supply has been restored in major cities of the country,” Energy Minister Omar Ayub reportedly told journalists on Sunday.
According to Ayub, it would take a few more hours to resume power supply across the whole country.
What caused the outage?
The country’s Energy Ministry is reported to have said that the outage was caused by a fault in the power transmission system.
Ayub said a technical fault in the Guddu power plant, a thermal power station in the southern province of Sindh, had triggered the system shutdown around 20 minutes before midnight.
“[The] electricity blackout in the country was due to sudden drop in the frequency of power transmission system from 50 to 0 in less than a second,” it said.
Follow-up tweets said the ministry was working to solve the problem “quickly” and gave updates as different facilities were fired up again.
“Systematic restoration of power will be initiated soon,” they explained. “Once the initial frequency is met, the restoration work speeds up.”
How did people experience the blackout?
Residents from cities across the country, including Karachi and Lahore, reported massive power outages on social media.
One social media user tweeted a picture of the blackout from the city of Karachi. The blackout is one of the worst that the country has experienced. In 2015, around 80% of the country was left without power after a key transmission line broke down. Source:www.energynewsafrica.comPower breakdown across Pakistan pic.twitter.com/OoUo1yEzYV
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) January 9, 2021
Nigeria: FG Suspends Power Tariff Hike After Public Anger …..Offers 55 Percent Subsidy To Low Users
The Federal Government of Nigeria has ordered the country’s electricity regulator, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to suspend the implementation of the nationwide electricity tariff hike.
According to PUNCH, a local portal, the West African nation’s Minister for Power, Sale Mamman, directed the commission to revert to the December 2020 power tariff.
The portal also quoted the Minister as saying that the government was currently subsidising 55 percent of on-grid consumers in selected bands.
Mr. Mamman further noted that the government never hiked tariff by 50 percent, as erroneously reported by some sections of the media.
“To promote a constructive conclusion of the dialogue with the labour centres, through the joint ad-hoc committee, I have directed NERC to inform all Distribution Companies (DISCOS) that they should revert to the tariffs that were applicable in December 2020 until the end of January 2021, when the Federal Government/labour committee work will be concluded,” Mr. Mamman stated.
He added: “This will allow for the outcome of all resolutions from the committee to be implemented together.”
The Minister said the government did not raise tariff by 50 percent, rather it had been subsidising about 55 percent of low income power users.
India To Construct World’s Largest Floating Solar ProjectNERC’s electricity tariff hike was met with widespread criticism by the consuming public. Adetayo Adegbemle, Executive Director for PowerUp Initiative For Electricity Rights, minced no words, describing it as pure wickedness. “We are not doing any press statement on this tariff increment. We have been making it all the time Nigerians now need to own their own fight…but this tariff increase is wickedness,’’ he said on twitter as sighted by energynewsafrica.com. Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Spanish Company Wins Contract To Operate Tema LNG Regasification Terminal
Spain’s LNG terminal operator, Reganosa, has been awarded a contract to operate and maintain the 2.34 billion cubic meter/year Tema LNG regasification terminal in Ghana, currently under construction, the company announced January 7, 2021.
Tema LNG Terminal Company, which owns the terminal, awarded Reganosa the contract for the O&M of the floating storage and regasification unit, as well as the associated 6 km gas pipeline and a pressure reduction and metering station connected to the existing pipeline network, which will be in the power and industrial enclave of Tema.
The company did not disclose financial details.
Tema LNG, backed by Helios Investment Partners and Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers, is set to be the first offshore LNG receiving terminal in sub-Saharan Africa.
The purpose-built FRU was built by Jiangnan Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
It left the Jiangnan shipyard at the end of November and was delivered to its site on January 7. It is expected to start delivering LNG to customers in the first quarter of 2021.
The FRU will be located within Tema Port, where TLTC has constructed additional marine infrastructure that will allow for cost-efficient LNG loading and regasification without affecting maritime and port traffic in the Gulf of Guinea.
LNG will be supplied under a long-term contract with Shell. The onshore reception facilities will receive the gas from the FRU via subsea pipelines, before delivering natural gas to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and its customers.
The terminal will employ the innovative combination of the FRU twinned with an existing LNG carrier to receive, store and regasify LNG, Reganosa said.
“This system provides Ghana with all the functionality of a large scale FRU-terminal, but with added flexibility, allowing it to respond to rapidly increasing domestic gas demand with a cleaner and more affordable energy solution,” it said.
“The Tema LNG terminal aims to meet Ghana’s growing energy demand through an innovative yet cost-efficient, reliable supply,” Edmund Agyeman-Duah, the project manager of TLTC, said.
“Once operational, this FRU will allow the Tema LNG facility to receive, regasify, store and deliver roughly 1.7 million mt of LNG a year — 30% of Ghana’s general capacity.”
“Tema LNG’s year-round supply of gas will enable the GNPC to supply reliable and cost-effective gas into the Tema power and industrial enclave, while strengthening West Africa’s energy security,” Agyeman-Duah said.
Source: Spglobal.com
India To Construct World’s Largest Floating Solar Project
India has hinted of its plans to construct world’s largest floating 600 MW solar energy project at Omkareshwar dam on Narmada River in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh.
The project is expected to begin power generation by year 2022-23.
The estimated investment in this project stands at Rs 3,000 crore, said an official release quoting the state’s new and renewable energy minister Hardeep Singh Dang.
The International Finance Corporation, World Bank and Power Grid have granted in-principle consent for providing aid for the said project development.
The primary feasibility study of the project has been completed in collaboration with the World Bank. The project is likely to begin power generation by year 2022-23, the minister said.
Dang said that the work of transmission line route survey will begin from the project area to Khandwa sub-station by power grid this month.
Tender for the study of environmental and social impact of the project area is also being issued. Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company has agreed to purchase 400 MW power from the project, he said.
The project will have floating solar panels of 600 MW power generation capacity in the backwaters of Omkareshwar dam. It is estimated that in 2 years, the project will start providing cheap and good quality power.
Electricity will be produced in about 2000-hectare water area by installing solar panels in the dam. Solar panels will float on the surface of the water in the reservoir, the release said.
When the water level of the dam is low, it will automatically adjust upwards and downwards. Strong waves and floods will have no effect on them. The sun’s rays will continue to produce electricity, it added.
Halliburton Appoints Van Beckwith As New Chief Legal Officer
Halliburton Company, one of the world’s leading products and services providers in the energy industry has appointed Van H. Beckwith as executive vice president, secretary and chief legal officer.
Beckwith succeeds Robb Voyles who is stepping down after seven years with the Company.
With this new role, Beckwith joins the Halliburton Executive Committee and assumes leadership of the Company’s Law Department, Global Communications & Marketing and Government Affairs.
“Van brings an extensive legal background and broad strategic leadership to Halliburton,” said Halliburton Chairman, President & CEO Jeff Miller.
“He is a strong addition to our executive leadership team and a great leader for our Company’s legal and communications groups.”
Beckwith joined Halliburton last year from Baker Botts L.L.P. where he practiced law for almost 30 years. He was global chair of the firm’s Litigation Department and a member of its Executive Committee.
Throughout 2020, Beckwith led the commercial law group and worked with Voyles to transition overall leadership responsibilities.
“Robb has been a trusted and strategic advisor to Halliburton and our Board of Directors, as well as a valued member of the Halliburton Executive Committee,” added Miller. “He established a standard of excellence for our legal and communications departments that I am confident Van will continue.”
Ghana: Fifteen Percent Of Ghanaian Population Without Electricity To Be Connected In My Second Term-President Akufo-Addo
Ghana’ President, H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo, has indicated that the remaining areas in the country that are not connected to national grid will be connected in his second term.
President Akufo-Addo made the pledge during his inaugural address at his investiture in Ghana’s parliament on Thursday, January 7, 2021.
Ghana’s population, as at the middle of 2020, was estimated at 31,072,940 according to data by the United Nation’s.
Currently, the West African nation has attained electricity access rate of about 85 percent with the remaining 15 percent of the population without electricity.
Ghana: President Praises BPA, Energy Ministry For Execution Of First Micro-Hydro Power Generation Station At AlavanyoAccording to Akufo-Addo, the remaining population would be connected to electricity in his second term to ensure economic growth. “The remaining fifteen percent of our communities without electricity would be covered by the end of my second term,” he assured Ghanaians. Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: It’s Good News–Says IES Boss As He Praises BOST
The Executive Director for Institute for Energy Security (IES), an energy think tank in the Republic of Ghana, Nana Amoasi (VII), has applauded the Edwin Nii Obodai-led management of Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) for the steps it has taken so far to revive the company’s abandoned assets.
Edwin Nii Obodai Provencal was appointed the Managing Director of the state company in August 2019, to replace George Mensah Okley who resigned from his post.
At the time he assumed office, BOST’s assets, such as pipeline infrastructure, storage tanks, barges, tagboats and other vital installations, had been abandoned for years without repairs.
Besides, BOST was saddled with huge legacy debts which date back under the National Democratic Congress’ administration.
However, barely a year and half when the current MD had been in the helm of affairs, the sordid state of BOST has seen an improvement.
Speaking to energynewsafrica.com in an interview after a presentation by the Managing Director of BOST, Edwin Provencal, to some selected Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Nana Amoasi VII said, “Looking at the presentation from BOST management today, they give an account of the revenue that has come in from an increment in their BOST Margin, and how they have expended this money as it has been shown has gone into repair of tanks. Some of the tanks were in a bad shape. We have seen the money go into the revival of pipelines infrastructure or network that were not working, for example Buipe to Bolga pipeline are being down since early 2017 and now is up because of the support CSOs gave to BOST to be given an increment in their Margin. We have also seen Tema-Akosombo Pipeline Project also 100 percent completed, according to the management and we’re yet to go to the field to confirm and if it’s true, then, we will say BOST has done well.
BOST had successfully repaired six out of the 15 storage tanks at APD, Buipe and Bolga, which were abandoned have now been repaired and are currently being in use.
“The Buipe-Bolgatanga Petroleum Product Pipeline (B2P3) had also been repaired and currently in use while repair works on the 6’’ Tema-Akosombo pipeline has just been completed.
“There is also repairing and spraying of barges and tagboats and extension of 8″ pipeline to the oil jetty, supply and installation of mass flow meters, fixing of pumps and loading arms, remedial works on 18″ CBM pipeline and commencement of Front End Engineering Design (FEED) for Accra -Kumasi pipeline.”
The IES boss said “this is good news we’re getting from BOST, but Civil Society will go to the field and confirm same and if it’s true that we’re having these on the ground, then, its good news for Ghanaians.”
On the revenue performance of the various departments of company, the Terminal Department recorded GHS48 million revenue in 2020 as compared to GHS45 million in 2019, representing seven percent.
The volume of products sold in sold in 2020 was 685,000 metric tonnes as compared to 652,000 metric tonnes representing five percent jump.
The Transmission Department also raked in GHS7 million in 2020 as compared to GHS2.9 million representing 141 percent with the volume of product skyrocketing to 23,224 metric tonnes in 2020 while 2,200 metric tonnes was sold in 2019, representing 1,057 percent.
Interestingly, the Fuel Trade Department made GHS 600,000 losses in 2019. However, in 2020 it made GHS26 million in profit, representing 4,348 percent after trading 150,000 metric tonnes of fuel compared to 77,000 metric tonnes in 2019.
Commenting on the trade profit of GHS 26 million for last year, Nana Amoasi VII described it as a very high performance saying, “It’s good to see bad performance in 2019 changed to a good revenue flow in 2020.”
According to him, CSOs are yet to see how BOST would ensure efficiency in their depots in order to attract business from third parties so that their assets become utilised.
“They should ensure that they have a good system where product coming into their system is fluid moving out from the primary depot being Accra Plains Depot (APD) is also fluid and efficient that is where BDC’s and other companies would want to do more business with them,” he advised.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com