The Desertec Project, has gained financial support from a consortium of companies including Deutsche Bank AG, Siemens AG, Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation, The Club of Rome, and other, and this means the 400 billion euros ($560 billion) project may very shortly be underway.

African countries, aside from Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, are not making the most of their vast wind potential, analysts say. The three North African countries supply 95% of the 563MW of installed wind power capacity in Africa, mostly fuelled by demand from Europe, where countries are under pressure to cut CO2 levels.

Raila Odinga, Kenya’s Prime Minister

According to the UN, Kenya has the capacity to generate more than 3,000MW of electricity if it tapped into wind energy in its vast northern districts

The recent launching of the rich methane gas project at Kibuye in Rwanda, has confirmed the importance of gas as a cheap, reliable energy source in the East African region. This comes in the run-up to the 11th East African Power Industry Convention (EAPIC), with the gas giant Songas announcing that it will join this elite power gathering as a gold sponsor.

James Musoni, Finance Minister for Uganda

Rwanda’s national electricity rollout programme received a boost late last week when the government of the Netherlands and Rwandan government signed an agreement that will see the Dutch release Euros 30m towards the realization of the project.

The residential sector in South Africa consumes 17% of the electrical energy. More than 70% of this electricity is generated using fossil fuels which contribute immensely to environmental pollution and global warming.

Anton Eberhard, graduate school of business, University of Cape Town

Over the next few months, the government, the ruling party and its alliance partners will face one of their most challenging economic tests. Decisions will have to be made around electricity price increases that will have far-reaching implications, not only for the financial viability of Eskom, but for the security of power supplies and consequent effects on economic development and growth.

By Alistair Wray, Dfid 

The Infrastructure Consortium for Africa held its 4th Annual Meeting in Tokyo in March. While Africa’s infrastructure needs are daunting, ICA members heard how commitments to make new investments have increased dramatically over the past year. The ICA was established after the 2005 Gleneagles G8 summit to facilitate more and better coordinated investment in infrastructure in Africa to achieve the economic growth and poverty reduction necessary to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

Themba Maseko, Government Spokesperson

The South African cabinet has approved plans to amendment the Constitution, a move which will give national government new and extended powers of intervention at the local government level, it was revealed last week.

Hugo van Vuuren, one of the Lebone Solutions founders

A new, off-grid lighting technology looks set to take developing countries with low electrification rates by storm. While many off grid electrification projects harness wind or solar power, a project by a group from Cambridge, Mass, is developing a fuel cell that operates on bacteria from soil!

Seventeen CEM's and Six CMVP's were awarded the prestigious qualification on 21 May 2008 at Browns on Rivonia Restaurant, Johannesburg.