Guinea's Bankan project advances

Australia’s Predictive Discovery, the developer of the Bankan gold project in Guinea, has outlined how it plans to power the proposed mine site

It will incorporate a hybrid model, built around a thermal power source, as well as an additional solar energy plant, an increasingly common set up for remote mine sites in recent years.

“Power for the project will be generated through a heavy fuel oil (HFO) power plant in combination with a solar farm,” the company reported after announcing the results of its Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) on Bankan.

It highlights the continued pull of HFO power plants as a dependable source of electricity for critical and remote mining and industrial applications in West Africa.

The full capital cost of the entire Bakan project, which will include open-pit and underground mining, is estimated at US$463mn, which includes pre-production operating costs, indirect costs and a US$34mn contingency.

Construction is expected to take two years, commencing in Q2 2026, enabling the start of commercial production in Q2 2028.

Andrew Pardey, Predictive Discovery’s managing director, said the Bankan project will be developed into “one of the largest gold mines in West Africa in a generation.”

Furthermore, he said Bankan will generate extensive benefits for the host country, with government revenues totalling approximately US$2bn across the mine’s life plus potential upside from current gold prices and future mine life extensions.

The project will also create significant job opportunities, with a peak construction workforce of around 1,500 personnel and an operational workforce of 1,100 personnel.

The next task for Pardey and his team is to secure the Exploitation Permit from the government, and then commence the financing process to fund the project, as well as advance talks with contractors ahead of tendering for work and equipment.

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Africa is strengthening its energy regulation (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Senegal and Kenya have topped the list of Africa’s leading electricity regulators in a new report highlighting rising standards

The two countries claimed the top spots in the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) 2024 Electricity Regulatory Index (ERI), which evaluates regulatory frameworks across 43 African states.

Uganda, Liberia and Niger round out the top five performers.

Niger registered one of the biggest gains, underlining the strong impact of sustained reforms and political commitment to power sector development, the AfDB noted in a statement.

“The 2024 ERI shows that Africa’s regulators are stepping up,” said Dr Kevin Kariuki, AfDB vice-president for power, energy, climate and green growth.

“We are now seeing stronger institutions delivering real results for utilities and consumers. This shift is critical if we are to achieve Mission 300 and connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030.”

The ERI index evaluates three dimensions: regulatory governance, regulatory substance, and regulatory outcomes (ROI).

The latter category, ROI, which tracks service delivery and utility performance, recorded the most substantial improvements across the continent.

“Now in its seventh edition, the ERI shows strong momentum toward more effective, transparent and impactful regulation, with real-world results beginning to emerge,” the AfDB noted.

The report highlights “standout progress” in Kenya and Senegal in areas such as tariff reform, regulatory outcomes and utility performance.

Crucially, progress is being recorded across the continent with average scores drifting upwards in recent years, and even the lowest-ranked countries seeing imporced scores.

The ROI surged from roughly 0.40 in 2022 to 0.62 in 2024, showing that reforms are delivering tangible service improvements on the ground, the AfDB noted.

Priority areas for enhancing regulatory effectiveness include areas such as strengthening regulatory independence, enhancing accountability mechanisms, promoting transparency and predictability and improving stakeholder participation.

Wale Shonibare, director for energy financial solutions, policy and regulation at the AfDB said the ERI 2024 index tells a hopeful story.

“African countries are not just passing laws — they are implementing them. Regulators are transforming from administrative bodies into strategic institutions with measurable influence. However, challenges related to independence, financing, and enforcement persist.”

Launched in 2018, the ERI is a diagnostic and policy tool used by governments, regulators and development partners to identify gaps, track progress, and prioritise reform efforts.

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South Africa's power shift begins

Mission 300 electrification drive nets US$8bn cash boost

JUWI and JA Solar sign major supply deal for two 220MW utility-scale projects. (Image source: JUWI Renewable Energies)

JUWI Renewable Energies, a global leader in clean energy development, has signed two major solar module supply agreements with JA Solar, a top-tier global manufacturer of high-performance photovoltaic (PV) products

The agreements cover nearly 420,000 solar panels for two large-scale utility projects with a combined capacity of 220MW, supporting some of South Africa’s biggest industrial power users including Glencore, Sasol and Air Liquide.

The projects include the 100MW Sonvanger Solar Plant, being developed for Glencore in partnership with Pele Green Energy, and the 120MW Paarde Valley PV2 Project for Sasol and Air Liquide, delivered with TotalEnergies, Mulilo and Reatile Group. These developments are scheduled to go live by late 2026 and will use enough solar panels to cover more than 160 rugby fields in area.

This agreement is part of JUWI’s broader construction initiative announced earlier this year, representing more than ZAR 6 billion (US$320mn) in new-build solar PV projects. Once completed, these installations will contribute roughly 5% to South Africa’s existing solar PV capacity.

“We’re proud to work with global technology leaders like JA Solar, energy-intensive industries and independent power producers to advance South Africa’s energy transition,” said Richard Doyle, managing director of JUWI Renewable Energies.

“With the country targeting nearly 30 gigawatts of new wind and solar by 2030, and 11 GW of coal capacity scheduled for decommissioning in the near future, we need to ramp up renewable energy deployment faster than ever before if we’re going to keep the lights on. These large-scale projects also bring real carbon savings to the country’s hard-to-abate sectors, while reducing electricity costs for energy users and easing pressure on the grid.”

Aiqing Yang, executive president of JA Solar, stated, “We’re proud to partner with JUWI on these flagship projects, which reflect our shared commitment to advancing clean energy in South Africa. By supplying high-efficiency modules built for performance and reliability, we’re helping to power a more sustainable industrial future.”

Together, the two projects will produce around 672,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of clean electricity every year. This output is expected to reduce approximately 625,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, the equivalent of removing more than 130,000 cars from the road, while lowering power costs for industrial users and easing strain on the national grid.

Off-grid power a thriving market in Africa

While Africa’s off-grid and captive power sector thrives, highlighting the continued failings in the continent’s energy systems, it also indicates an enticing opportunity for investors, as well as unmet demand, according to a new report

In its State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025, Africa Finance Corporation sees potential for long-term investment and opportunity for those companies keen to offer innovative, clean-based energy solutions.

“Rather than an ideal outcome, the boom in self-generation should be viewed as a market signal — a clear indication of suppressed demand, investment potential and the urgency of expanding reliable grid access,” the report notes.

It calls Africa’s huge demand for off-grid and captive power a “symptom of unmet demand” as well as a missed investment opportunity.

The report points to a growing share of generation that is now occurring outside the grid system — through off-grid, embedded and captive power systems — particularly in Africa’s largest economies, Nigeria and South Africa.

These developments reflect not only market innovation but also the continued inability of centralised systems to meet rising urban and industrial demand.

“In Nigeria, unreliable public supply has pushed millions of households and firms to rely on petrol and diesel generators,” the report states.

“Captive generation is especially widespread among industrial and commercial users, with large enterprises investing in dedicated diesel and gas-fired power plants.”

It highlights recent spatial data studies by SEforALL that suggest off-grid generation capacity in Lagos State alone could exceed 19 GW — surpassing Nigeria’s entire grid-connected generation capacity.

In South Africa meanwhile, a wave of decentralised investment followed the government’s 2022 decision to lift licensing requirements for embedded generation projects.

Registered capacity rose dramatically — from just 23 MW in 2019 to 4.5 GW by the end of 2023.

“Much of this has been driven by the private sector, including utility-scale along with behind-the-meter installations by commercial and industrial users,” the report notes.

“Estimates from local industry groups suggest that more than 1 GW of private solar capacity was added in 2024 alone.”

Despite their scale and significance, these trends remain poorly captured in official statistics, the report adds.

Global data often focuses on off-grid renewables, largely solar rooftops, while thermal generation, a large component of industrial self-generation, is rarely tracked.

“Yet thermal installations matter: captive plants serving mines, cement factories, or industrial parks can range from 20 MW to 200 MW or more per site, representing substantial capacity additions,” the report states.

Importantly, the rise of off-grid and captive power underscores a deeper systemic failure, it adds.

“Going off-grid is not always a low-cost solution — it is a last resort.”

A 2019 study by the Energy for Growth Hub found that, once reliability is factored in, self-generated power costs roughly twice as much as grid electricity in Nigeria and South Africa, and up to four times more in Ethiopia.

“These high costs erode industrial competitiveness and highlight the economic penalty of inadequate grid investment,” the report notes.

However, it also underscores pent-up demand for power where investors are able to meet the needs of buyers.

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