Photos above: (Top Left) In Tanzania, a group of women visit Lobulu Boma for the launch of the Power Africa supported Maasai Solar Project. (Top Right) International Collaborative for Science, Education, and Environment President and Founder Robert Lange shows the battery and fuse systems in Lobulu Boma to Rogness Swai, USAID/Tanzania Energy Projects Development Specialist. (Bottom Left) On the structure to the right, a solar panel on the roof and fuse box located outside of the shared house distributes electricity via underground wires to homes in the boma. (Bottom Right) Elizabeth, from Lobulu Boma, logs onto her email account from the boma's shared computer. Photos by Jessie Bryson, USAID/Tanzania.

Letter from the Coordinator, Andrew M. Herscowitz

As we near the two-year anniversary of the launch of Power Africa in June of this year, we think of all the viewpoints of sub-Saharan African government officials, African civil society leaders and our private sector partners, whether positive or critical, that have shaped how we are working to fulfill our mission of increasing new power generation in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Vestas Joins Power Africa as a Private Sector Partner

Working together, Power Africa and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are increasing in clean energy development projects across the continent.

Vestas, the world´s leading wind turbine manufacturer recently, became one of Power Africa's private sector partners. In this interview, Vestas discusses how its efforts relate to Power Africa's drive to expand access to electricity to millions of people across sub-Saharan Africa.
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How Power Africa is building new relationships with African utility companies

Power Africa, through the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), is working to improve power distribution and bring cleaner energy online across the continent. Recently, USTDA signed memoranda of cooperation in order to strengthen existing partnerships with the Eko and Ikeja Utilities in Nigeria. Under these partnerships, USTDA and its Power Africa partners are introducing officials from each company to U.S. industry experts who can help them further develop comprehensive plans to modernize their networks. USTDA also recently signed a grant agreement that will connect U.S. and African businesses aiming to develop solar power in East Africa.
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Power Africa Helping to Unlock the Potential for Cleaner Renewable Power

Earlier this year, in a quiet patch of land an hour from Kigali, Rwanda, with the help of Power Africa through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), energy development in sub-Saharan Africa took a historic leap forward. With the snip of a ribbon and the flip of a switch, East Africa's first ever grid-connected, utility-scale solar energy facility commenced operations, proving that a private developer supported by a focused group of governments and diverse financiers can achieve real results to address acute energy shortages in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Celebrating the Launch of Solar Micro-Grid Electrification in a Rural Maasai Community

Groups like the International Collaborative for Science, Education, and Environment (ICSEE) are working to increase the low rates of electricity access in rural Tanzania, and bring electricity to the underserved communities of the East African nation. Using a grant financed by Power Africa, ICSEE is working with the Maasai people of Northern Tanzania to deliver reliable, low-cost, and low-maintenance power systems to rural communities; specifically solar powered micro grids.
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Expanding the Understanding of Power Purchase Agreements: Multipartner process leads to publication of a new Power Africa handbook

Power Africa's focus on streamlining power project negotiations, led to the creation of a special project on Power Purchase Agreements (PPA). "The PPA project" as it came to be known, was developed through a partnership between the U.S. Department of Commerce's Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) and the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF).

The PPA project brought together public and private sector experts to identify the key risks in PPAs and layout the best practices for allocating those risks between developers, banks and host-governments. The result: the development and launch of a handbook titled "Understanding Power Purchase Agreements."
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CNBC AFRICA: PANEL DISCUSSION ON POWER AFRICA

CNBC Africa's "Invest Africa" program recently aired a half hour long discussion on energy poverty issues in sub-Saharan Africa.The panelists included Andrew M. Herscowitz from Power Africa, Yash Krishna from Power Africa private sector partner Cummins Cogeneration Kenya Limited, Segun Sowande from KPMG, and Professor Mosad Elmissiry head of Energy Programs at the New Partnership for Africa's Development.
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AFRICAN UTILITY WEEK - May 12 - 14, 2015, Cape Town, South Africa

The 15th Annual African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa is a conference and trade exhibition for African power and water utility professionals. Power Africa and the U.S Commercial Service are serving as co-sponsors for the event and are hosting a U.S. Pavilion.
Read Power Africa's 2013-2014 Annual Report

AFRICA ENERGY FORUM: June 8 - 11, 2015 Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Power Africa is serving as a sponsor for the 17th Annual Africa Energy Forum taking place from June 8th to the 11th in Dubai, UAE. Several senior U.S. Government officials as well as many of our private sector partners will have speaking roles on a variety of panels focusing on energy access issues in sub-Saharan Africa.
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POWER AFRICA PHOTO CONTEST

A signed deal or a megawatt is not always easy to visualize - especially for non-technical audiences. That's where the creativity and vision of our partners plays a role: to help shed light and their perspective on the role Power Africa and energy innovation are playing to increase access to power in sub-Saharan Africa. We're calling on you: our partners, colleagues, and implementers to show the world the faces, places, and moments that epitomize Power Africa.
Learn more about the event

IN THE NEWS

Read the latest items relating to Power Africa and Energy in Africa in our "In the News" sections of the Power Africa website.

Visit the "In the News" Sections: Power Africa and Energy in Africa