Page 10 - AfrElec Week 05 2023

AfrElec HYDROPOWER AfrElec

Sudan’s leader says country aligned

with Ethiopia over controversial dam

SUDAN, ETHIOPIA SUDAN’S military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Bur- PM Abiy Ahmed said that the dam is not
han, said that his country is in alignment with intended to cause any harm to Sudan but will
Ethiopia on a controversial Grand Ethiopian have benefits, including electricity production.
Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile, Sudan hopes that the dam will regulate annual
according to a statement on Saturday (January flooding and generate the electricity necessary
29) following a meeting with Ethiopian PM, Abiy for development. However, the country fears that
Ahmed. its own dams and large spaces of its land will be
Egypt views GERD as a threat to its national harmed without agreement on GERD operation.
security and historical water rights. The coun- Relations between Sudan and Ethiopia have
try is dependent on the Nile for irrigation and been marked by tensions in recent years, includ-
drinking water, and the Blue Nile accounts for ing a border dispute and disagreements over
more than 80% of its flow. Ethiopia started con- refugees from the two-year conflict in Ethiopia’s
struction of the dam in 2011. Since then, it has northern Tigray region.
been the source of tensions between Ethiopia The $4.2bn Renaissance Dam is set to be the
and downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan. largest in Africa. Ethiopia hopes that the dam
Several meetings on the issue failed to produce will put the country on a path to industrialisation
an agreement on the filling and operation of the that could lift tens of millions of its population
reservoir. out of poverty.™

RENEWABLES

Solar supplier GridX Africa to

expand in DR Congo, Kenya

DRC, KENYA EAST African renewable power supplier GridX PV and 4.2 megawatt hours (MWh) of battery
Africa is expanding to the Democratic Repub- energy storage systems installed or under con-
lic of Congo (DRC), company chief executive struction. In more than 75% of cases, the com-
Chalker Kansteiner told The Africa Report in an pany provides financing as well as solar power
interview.. systems.
GridX Africa will initially supply off-grid Kansteiner says Kenya’s prospects have
solar power to seven Cobil petrol stations in improved under President William Ruto, who
Kinshasa, with a plan to add 20 more, he says. used his September 2022 inauguration speech to
Logistics in the DRC are different from in Kenya, call for an end to the world’s “addiction” to fossil
where the company’s main operations are, and fuels. Kenya, where only about 1mn people had
he wants to see proof that GridX can operate in electricity in 1990, is committed to achieving
Kinshasa before considering further expansion. 100% renewable energy by 2030.
Some of the equipment for the DRC project GridX is exploring opportunities to invest
will be sourced from China and some prefabri- in Kenyan grid infrastructure and sell power
cated in South Africa. The contract with Cobil is directly to customers. In 2021, the solar supplier
for an initial six years, versus a standard 12-15 invested $7mn into Kenya’s Two Rivers power
years for GridX’s Kenyan projects, Kansteiner company, which will supply the Two Rivers com-
says. mercial and residential development in Nairobi.
The company develops and finances solar and Additionally, GridX is in “relatively
energy storage solutions for businesses across all advanced” discussions over $10mn of senior
Sub-Saharan Africa. GridX, which was estab- debt, which will become available in the next two
lished in 2017, currently plans to ramp up its months for two or three new projects in Kenya,
presence in Kenya. It also has projects in Tanza- Kansteiner says. Taking a gradual approach to
nia and Mozambique. fundraising, he also wants to raise at least $10mn
According to The Africa Report, GridX has of equity in the second half of the year, according
a total of 5.8 megawatts-peak (MWp) of solar to the Africa Report.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 05 01•February•2023