Timber projects in Congo Basin pose huge challenges

COUNTRIES of Africa’s Congo Basin would like to grow richer by making and selling products from their abundant supply of timber, but experts see a path strewn with obstacles. A first difficulty is that electrical power for sawmills and factories “is not available, because its production is problematic”, Emmanuel Ze Meka of the International Tropical Timber Organisation says. “There is also a lack of transport infrastructure” and “taxation is.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

South Africa enters solar power world top 10

South Africa has now connected more than half a gigawatt of utility-scale solar power, moving into the world top 10 of countries harnessing renewable energy from the sun, according to figures released last month by Wiki-Solar.org. Wiki-Solar is a leading authority on the deployment of utility-scale solar power - photovoltaic (PV) power stations of 5 to 10 megawatts (MW) and above. The United States tops Wiki-Solar's list of the top 10 markets for utility-scale solar power, with.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

Solar computer is a product of Africa

CAPSULE Technologies, a Cape Town-based technology firm, has designed Africa’s first solar-powered desktop computer running on Android. Recognised as a World Design Capital project, the device, called the IMPI Mk1, is highly energy-efficient and can operate on 20W, compared with other desktop computers which can burn an average of 200W to 400W. Capsule Technologies founder Megan Verkuil said on Friday the computer was built in response to Africa’s energy.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

Oil find to transform East African economies

East African oil and gas discoveries are poised to fundamentally transform the economies of the region as the fuel resources usher in new investment in road, rail, power and industrial infrastructure, according to Standard Bank. Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Mozambique have emerged as one of the most prolific oil and gas exploration regions in the world over the last 10 years, says Mr Simon Ashby-Rudd, the London-based global head of oil and gas at Standard.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

Swala Oil gets Dar es Salaam listing approvals

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - Swala Oil and Gas Tanzania Plc has offered 9.6 million shares to the public following its approval by the Tanzania Capital Markets and Security Authority (CMSA). The listing of Swala makes it the first oil and gas exploration firm to list on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in Tanzania. CMSA has approved Swala’s Initial Public Offer Prospectus last week. “This allows Swala to offer to the public up to 9.6 million shares at a price per.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

Chinese give $136m for Tanzania wind bid

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - The Export–Import Bank of China has given Dar a soft loan of  Tsh 226.7 billion (about $136million) for the wind power project in the Singida region which would be able to generate 50MW. Speaking during 38th Dar es salaam International Trade FAIR (DITF) in National Development Cooperation pavilion, NDC Head of Chemical Industry, Abdallah Mandwanga said, the project will start to generate 50MW by using wind through a firm called Geo Wind Power.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

U.S. Firm Secures Africa Power Deal

Nairobi - The country is poised to benefit from Tetra Tech's announcement it had been awarded a $64 million contract to provide technical assistance for the Power Africa Transactions and Reform Programme that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is funding to improve power supply in the African continent. Tetra Tech, the United States-headquartered firm, has been awarded the five-year contract to support the Power Africa Initiative. This contract has a.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

Bank seeks to expand services in Kilimanjaro

UCHUMI Commercial Bank (UCB) Ltd in Kilimanjaro Region has registered a 14.3 per cent profit rise as it targets to raise its capital from 2.5bn/- to 7bn/- by 2017. Speaking at the bank’s annual general meeting during the weekend, Chairman of Board of Directors, Mr Wilson Ndesanjo said that the level of capital will ensure availability of sufficient liquidity for effective lending, cater for expansion of services, meet regulatory requirements and finance well equipped delivery.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

In Kenya, the Next Big Oil Patch

Kenya's Great Rift Valley, a 450-mile-long volcanic trench ripped open by shifting tectonic plates, is known as the cradle of mankind for the million-year-old remains of human forebears discovered there. Oil drillers say the area also holds a string of fields that could make East Africa's largest economy a major energy producer. The U.K.'s Tullow Oil (TLW:LN) and Canada's Africa Oil found crude at two wells last year and now plan up to 11 more test wells in 2013. The valley could.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Recent discoveries in Kenya highlight oil and gas potential

Kenya’s run of geologic luck continues, following the announcement of the country’s fourth consecutive discovery of oil by the UK’s Tullow Oil and Canada’s Africa Oil. Similarly, while activity in the natural gas sector is proceeding at a slower pace, following the recent departure of one explorer, the outlook for new finds is promising. New wells Tullow and Africa Oil, which are joint partners in the exploration of the East Africa Rift Basin, announced.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Africa : High Potential Market For Solar & Other Alternative Energy Projects

Africa has a huge untapped potential for generating clean energy, including enough hydroelectric power from its seven major river systems to serve the entire continent’s needs, as well as enormous potential for other energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal. Africa is ideal for alternative energy projects, as many of the countries receive 325 days of sunlight on average. This makes solar power a high potential for alternative energy without high cost power.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Solar power rule heats up market for equipment vendors

Solar equipment vendors have seen an upturn in business as property developers move to comply with a new law meant to cut electricity costs. The Energy (Solar Water Heating) Regulations 2012 require builders of residential and commercial houses to include solar water heating systems in their designs. The regulations affect units whose hot water needs exceed 100 litres per day and also require existing premises with no solar heaters to have them retrofitted by 2017. “Our sales.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014