New data mining facility for Addis Ababa

Abu Dhabi’s Phoenix Group has unveiled a 30MW hydropower-backed data mining facility at Bole Lemi Industrial Park in Addis Ababa, in partnership with Ethiopian Electric Power

It represents a key expansion milestone in Phoenix’s growth into Africa’s energy-rich markets and its long-term strategy to scale to 1GW of compute capacity.

Phoenix and Ethiopian Electric Power developed the site as part of a strategic collaboration designed to combine Ethiopia’s growing renewable energy strength with Phoenix’s operational expertise in high-efficiency compute deployments.

The 6,250-square-metre site has been purpose-built to support advanced mining and future compute workloads while leveraging stable, low-cost, and carbon-neutral hydropower from Ethiopia’s national grid, which will add 1.9 EH/S to Phoenix’s existing hashrate.

“This deployment represents a major advancement in Phoenix’s global growth strategy and marks our entry into one of the world’s most energy-rich emerging markets,” said Munaf Ali, co-founder and CEO of Phoenix Group.

“Ethiopia offers a compelling combination of renewable power, long-term energy visibility, and government partnership, all critical factors as we scale toward 1GW and reinforce our commitment to renewable energy and responsible growth.”

The East African country recently inaugurated the giant Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to boost its vast hydro power potential.

Phoenix’s presence in Ethiopia also supports the country’s wider digital and industrial objectives, including investment attraction, energy export monetisation, and technology infrastructure development.

With the Ethiopian site now online, Phoenix now aims to advance toward its target milestone of 1GW aggregate capacity as it transitions from a pure-play mining model to a diversified digital infrastructure platform with future AI hosting, compute leasing, and HPC capabilities.

An IHC portfolio company, Phoenix Group is a global digital infrastructure operator and ranked among the world’s top 10 Bitcoin miners, currently with over 500MW deployed across five countries.

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New collaboration secures reliable power for teaching, research and healthcare while paving the way for clean energy integration. (Image source: Solarise Africa)

The University of Cape Town (UCT), in partnership with Solarise Africa, ACES Africa, and WEG, has inaugurated the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences Backup Power Project at its Health Sciences Campus in Observatory

The initiative aims to ensure continuous power for critical healthcare, research, and academic operations while laying the groundwork for future renewable energy integration.

In its first phase, the project introduces a 2.4 MVA Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) providing 4 MWh of storage capacity, complemented by 1.5 MVA of WEG generators. A centralised PPC/SCADA-based control system manages coordination between battery, generator, and upcoming solar components. Phase 2, now under design, will include a 171.6 kWp solar PV system projected to offset around 230 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually once functional.

Sakkie van Wijk, co-founder and chief operating officer of Solarise Africa, stated that the project embodies the firm’s mission: “Reliable energy is not a luxury, it’s critical infrastructure. With this partnership, we are safeguarding healthcare, research, and education today, while building towards a sustainable energy future.”

“Ensuring uninterrupted operations and energy resilience across our medical campus is a strategic priority,” said Avi Dhevdath, acting director: programme management at UCT.

“This initiative strengthens the campus’s ability to sustain critical research and teaching activities, guaranteeing operational continuity and supporting UCT’s pursuit of resilience, excellence, and world-class infrastructure.”

UCT is also aligning its resilience goals with climate responsibility. “This project delivers both reliability and carbon reduction,” remarked Manfred Braune, director of environmental sustainability at UCT.

“By coupling backup with solar readiness, we reduce emissions while strengthening our resilience, precisely the kind of forward-looking investment UCT must make.”

For EPC partner ACES Africa, the project is a demonstration of practical engineering expertise.

Charl Gous, CEO of ACES Africa, commented, “At ACES, we engineer solutions you can trust. This project is a landmark in delivering resilient energy systems for critical African institutions.”

WEG South Africa, responsible for designing, manufacturing, and integrating the medium-voltage systems, substations, generators, and Energy Management System (EMS), highlighted the synergy between durability and sustainability. “Our role was to build a robust electrical backbone that meets today’s energy security needs while enabling tomorrow’s renewable integration,” concluded Eduardo Werninghaus, CEO of WEG Africa.

The partnership exemplifies a resilience-led approach with flexibility for renewable upgrades, reflecting a collective vision for energy reliability, institutional sustainability, and climate-conscious infrastructure.

Oando is stepping up its interest in the clean energy sector

Nigerian energy group Oando plc is expanding its clean energy division, outlining a variety of power and related projects in its latest results update

The roster of projects includes a 1.2 GW solar PV assembly plant, which it hopes will tap into rising demand for solar panels and the desire to source from local manufacturers.

In its clean energy division, the company noted that it “advanced its electric mobility, solar, and recycling initiatives”, including progressing the development of a 1.2GW solar PV assembly plant.

Few details have been provided on the manufacturing plant but it is thought that the facility will also recycle old solar panels into materials for other applications.

In addition, Oando reported that it had also completed a techno-economic study for a 6 MW geothermal pilot project, as well as secured land for a 2,750-ton-per-month PET recycling facility.

The indigenous energy group, which is listed on both the Nigerian Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, said overall profits were up 164% during the nine months ended September 30, 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, despite a drop in revenues, citing “production growth and disciplined execution.”

Wale Tinubu, Oando’s CEO, said the high growth followed the acquisition of 100% of the shareholding interest in the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from the Italian energy company, Eni, last year.

“In the first nine months of 2025, we consolidated the gains achieved following our acquisition of NAOC’s assets last year,” he told investors.

“Our assumption of operatorship has been transformational, granting us the agility to act decisively and execute with precision in driving production growth and operational efficiency.”

In the upstream segment, the company said group production averaged 38,121 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) during the period, up 59% year-on-year,

“Oando’s performance reflects a period of strategic transition, marked by strong profitability and upstream growth despite softer trading revenues,” it said in a statement.

Its latest announcement also illustrates a deeper interest in expanding beyond hydrocarbons and into renewables and other clean energy alternatives.

In its Q1 2025 results, Oando said that it is targeting the deployment of 50 electric buses as well as making further progress on the solar PV module assembly plant, advancing it toward final investment decision, although it did not give any timescale on when it hoped the scheme would be operational.

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