The African Comission Energy (AFREC) organized a workshop on march 09, 2023, to present and validate the results of the program « Invest in Sustainable Energy statistics in Africa » test phasis launched on January 2022, a support program conceived to strenghthen or establish the National Energy Information Systems and improve the energetic statistics quality and coverage in the African Union (AU) member states.

This workshop leaded by both IED and the AFREC, pointed out energetic systems diagnosis reports and quinquennial action plans of each participating country. It was as well the opportunity to expose the challenges of member states and identify each country needs regarding the implementation of the reports recommendations.

As partner of this program implementation, IED worked closely with AFREC and the main national points during this past year in order to evaluate in details national energetic statistics programs, to set a diagnosis and also a quinquennial action plan for energetic statistics for each participating country.

The 10 member states diagnosis reports and action plans form an important execution tool to search for investments, to guide recommendations implementation and create or improve countries’ contributions to the NEIS, in order to establish a better energetic planning on the African continent.

In his opening speach, AFREC executive Director, Mr. Rashid Abdallah, thanked all the participants for their involvement in the program, focused on its importance for a more efficient energy resources management while developing sustainable energies progress. These efforts devoted by AFREC to enhance energy sector in Africa were praised by the African-EU energy partnership secretary-chief, Mr. Johan van den Berg.

Check the AFREC web page : https://au-afrec.org/fr/le-soutien-de-lafrec-pour-le-renforcement-des-systemes-dinformation-energetiques-nationaux-neis-des

With proven specific expertise in the study, design, implementation and operation of biomass power plants, as well as the analysis of biomass resources and their sustainability, IED brings its technical expertise to the PCCET (Competitive Value Chains for Employment and Economic Transformation Project).

The power plant project consists of a 4MW unit using residues from cocoa, palm oil and possibly rubber processing as fuel. The particularity is that the plant will be built on an industrial site located in San Pedro that will process cocoa beans and benefit from a supply of electricity and heat. The client will be a project company in which the processing company will be involved; construction and operation will be entrusted to engineering and service companies with experience in projects of comparable size.  

The mission of IED is to carry out the preliminary technical studies, i.e. to verify the availability of the resource; to define the electrical and thermal producible in relation to the needs of the processing company; establish the technical principles of the design as well as the technical performances; quantify investments and draft the technical documentation of the tender documents; and assist the PCCET in the recruitment of a builder.

In addition to IED technical assistance, the PCCET has also recruited firms to address legal, tax and financial issues, as well as environmental impacts.

The start of the construction phase is expected in 2024 for commissioning before 2026.

IED has recently started activities related to the project to model Mauritania's energy trajectory to 2050.

This project, supported by AFD, was launched by a mission to Nouakchott to meet all the sectors for which the theme of energy is central: transport, cooking, industries, mining, fishing, agriculture.

A workshop gathering all sectors introduced a broad discussion on these themes. If today Mauritania's energy balance is dominated by traditional biomass and hydrocarbons, by 2050 the country's profile could be upset with the exploitation of its major natural gas resources and the production of green hydrogen through the development of the country's immense solar and wind potential.

IED and its partners Artelys and Tenmya are mandated to help the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of the Environment and SOMELEC to identify the 4 most potential energy trajectories by 2050. These trajectories will be analysed through the prism of access to clean energy, the CO2 emissions diminution, investment cost and sustainability of biomass resource exploitation.

The Agrogazelec project, carried out with the support of the French Global Environement Facility (FFEM), has enabled the adaptation and transfer of the technology exploited by IED Invest in Cambodia to cashew hulls, with a view to develop the industrial sector in Africa.

A first pilot project, co-financed by the OCEF Facility of the Millenium Challenge Account - Benin II (MCA Benin II) aims to transform the cashew hulls of the Tolaro Global plant into electricity to meet the needs of the plant, and thus improve the competitiveness of the local processing sector and limit its impact on the environement.

The last equipment of the gasification plant have arrived on site and the installation of the plant will start up in the coming days.

Teams from Cambodia, Côte d'Ivoire and France will be mobilized to assemble the equipment and carry out commissioning tests in early May.

Although the technology is relatively simple and robust, good control of operation and maintenance are the key to ensuring a sustainable and efficient operation. The future managers of the operation and maintenance of the Tolaro power plant (4 Beninese engineers and technicians) went to Cambodia from 14 March to 2 April to be trained in operation in one of the plants operated by IED Invest in Cambodia, as part of the capacity building activities of the Agrogazelec project.

This training was provided by the Cambodian operation teams and IED Invest's gasification support service for Africa based in Côte d'Ivoire.