The German government has committed to providing funding to support Ghana’s renewable energy development. The pledge comes after President Nana Akufo – Addo disclosed plans to explore renewable energy sources as an alternative remedy to ending the nation’s impending power issues. The German government made this known during the 2017 West Africa Clean Energy and Environment (WACEE) Exhibition and Conference in Accra on Tuesday– noting that the funding will be provided through its technical cooperation agency, GIZ, and development bank, KfW

According to a representative from the Belize Electricity Limited, Vonetta Burrell, Public Relations Manager, the current coverage of BEL in the country is at 92% and is expected to reach 98% by 2020. With a GOB-EU-BEL initiative over 200 communities and a total of 5,000 households in both new and existing communities will be impacted. The project will require approximately $35 million to achieve and as a part of achieving that, residents in Cowpen have received electricity for the first time. As a part of the European Union’s mission to improve lives, as well as that shared mission with BEL, several banana farms were beneficiaries of the project

The European Union (EU) has allocated over 484 million Euros under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) to projects in Zambia. Zambia’s Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba said the EU has disbursed the funds towards sectors such as Agriculture, Energy, Governance and Infrastructure for the period 2014 to 2020. This is according to a press statement made available to ZANIS by First Secretary Press and Public Relations at Zambia’s High Commission to South Africa Naomi Nyawali. And Zambia has sped up the absorption of over 80% of the 484 million Euros grants allocated to Zambia under the 11th European Development fund EDF.

Following the recent hurricane season and the experienced damage in the Caribbean, France has decided to move forward with stronger support for the geothermal project in St. Kitts, as reported by the Caribbean News Service. In a meeting this past weekend, Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris and Ian Liburd, Minister for Public Infrastructure held bilateral meetings with the Ambassador of France to St. Kitts and Nevis. The meeting was also attended by French Foreign Trade Advisor, Jacques Chouraki, also the President of Teranov Geothermal Energy. The company has been working on establishing the geothermal potential on St. Kitts together with the government. In its studies on the potential, it is estimated that at least 18 to 36 MW of geothermal power generation capacity could be developed on the island

The Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries has partnered with the European Union in the development of a sustainable energy implementation plan for Trinidad and Tobago. The plan was prepared by the EU Technical Assistance Facility and presented to parliamentary secretary Nicole Olivierre yesterday during a ceremony at the International Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain. Olivierre said the plan was a significant milestone that provides a workable solution to transitioning the country’s fossil fuel-based energy system to one that is diversified and sustainable. “In light of the many changes in the local and international energy sphere, we are obligated to take appropriate steps to transition our energy systems,” she said.

GreenWish Partners (‘GreenWish’), an independent renewable energy producer in Africa, has announced the signature of a partnership with Orange to implement the energy transition of its telecommunications towers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This partnership will see GreenWish and its operating partner Sagemcom deploy hybrid solar power generation solutions that combine solar energy, battery and diesel in support of greater energy efficiency. This first tranche of 250 telecom towers across the whole of the DR Congo marks the launch of a new electricity supply model for Orange in the country. This model, known as ESCO (Energy Services Company), has already been launched in India and the United States.

Britain has expressed its readiness to invest in pipeline infrastructure, renewable energy, gas and power of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry. British High Commissioner, Mr. Paul Arkwright, made this promise when the group general manager, Group Public Affairs of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, visited the Chancery of British High Commission in Abuja.Mr. Arkwright noted that the British Government had genuine investment interest in the Downstream, Midstream and Upstream sectors, stressing that the British Department for International Trade was ready to liaise with the Federal Government to invest in the country.

Two agreements, namely on the establishment of the France Development Agency (AFD) in Angola and another one relating to the financing of water projects, were signed last Friday, in Luanda. The first agreement was signed by the Finance minister, Archer Mangueira, and by the French ambassador, Silvain Itté. This agreement is aimed at enabling the AFD to officially in Angola and work in financing projects linked to the areas of waters, energy and agriculture. The second agreement was signed by minister Archer Mangueira and the resident representative of the World Bank in Angola, Clara de Sousa, as well as the director of the France Development Agency (AFD), Martha Stein- Scochas.

The European Union (EU) says it has so far committed over 700 million euros for the development of sustainable energy in Nigeria and other ECOWAS countries from 2014 to 2020. The Head of Cooperation, EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr Kurt Cornelis, said this in Abuja on Monday at a workshop on policy and regulation for clean energy mini-grids and renewable energy in ECOWAS region. Cornelis said access to electricity and promotion of sustainable energy solutions were at the core of EU’s cooperation with the region, hence the provision of the grants to ECOWAS countries.

When it fully takes off, the newly-approved Nigeria Office for Trade Negotiation (NOTN) is to advise the federal government on how best to go about resolving the contentious Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah has said. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently approved the establishment of NOTN to act as the pivot for the negotiation of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements between Nigeria and other countries and agencies. The EPA, which is a response to continuing criticism that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by the European Union (EU) are incompatible with World Trade Organisation (WTO) to rules, is a scheme to create a free trade area (FTA) between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), but has been mired in controversy.