Category: Africa

Source: APO

Master Power Technologies (MPT) (https://kva.co.za), a leading African provider of critical power and data centre infrastructure, has become the first African company to be officially certified as an Endorser of the European Code of Conduct for Energy Efficiency in Data Centres.

This milestone positions MPT at the forefront of sustainable data centre design on the continent. It affirms its alignment with the highest international standards for energy efficiency and responsible power use.

The certification, awarded by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), recognises companies that design and support data centres in accordance with rigorous best practices for energy management. MPT now joins a select group of global leaders, including Microsoft, who have earned this prestigious endorsement.

“This is a proud moment for Africa. We have always believed that African engineering can meet and exceed global benchmarks. Now, with this certification, we can confidently assure our clients that their data centres are being built to the same standards as the best in Europe, efficient, sustainable and future-ready,” said Menno Parsons, Founder and CEO of MPT.

Gold standard for data centre design

The European Code of Conduct was launched in response to growing concerns over the energy consumption of data centres. Since its inception in 2008, it has become the gold standard for energy-efficient design and operation across the EU. Until now, no African engineering firm had achieved certification under this framework.

Bernard Lecanu, Managing Director at BL International Consultant and one of the original architects of the Code, welcomed MPT’s certification: “When we began this initiative, we knew that the data centre industry would need to evolve rapidly to meet environmental and energy challenges. MPT’s achievement is not only a first for Africa, it is also a signal that the continent is ready to lead in sustainable digital infrastructure.”

For MPT’s clients, the benefits are immediate and tangible. The certification assures them that their facilities are designed with optimal energy performance in mind, reducing operational costs and environmental impact. It also enhances credibility with global partners, particularly those seeking to align with the EU’s Taxonomy Regulation and sustainability directives.

Boost for Africa’s data centre industry

Beyond commercial advantage, MPT’s endorsement has broader implications for the African data centre industry. As the continent experiences exponential digital growth, the need for resilient and efficient infrastructure is critical. MPT’s leadership sets a precedent and lays the groundwork for a future African Code of Conduct, a project the company is helping to pioneer with support from European institutions.

“This is just the beginning. We are not only building data centres, we are also helping to build a sustainable digital future for Africa. This certification proves that African engineering can meet the most demanding global standards and gives our clients the confidence that every facility we design is optimised for performance, resilience, and environmental responsibility,” said Parsons.

“It also opens the door for deeper collaboration with European partners and policymakers, ensuring that Africa is not just catching up, but actively shaping the future of data centre innovation. We are proud to lead this transformation and are ready to help others follow.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Master Power Technologies.

Editorial Contacts:
Master Power Technologies
Belinda Aslett
Marketing Lead
Email: belinda@kva.co.za
Cell: +27 82 783 8710
Website: https://kva.co.za

Source: APO

South Africa’s Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe will participate as a speaker at the G20 African Energy Investment Forum in Johannesburg, hosted by the African Energy Chamber (AEC) (https://EnergyChamber.org/) on November 21. His participation comes as South Africa advances a broad portfolio of mining, oil, gas and infrastructure developments aimed at strengthening energy security and mobilizing global capital.

In November 2025, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will officiate the opening of the Platreef Mine in Limpopo – a major foreign direct investment milestone featuring first concentrate deliveries of platinum group metals, nickel, copper and gold. The project marks a significant boost for local supply chains and community partnerships, including the commissioning of the Masodi Wastewater Treatment Works.

In the coal sector, Liberty Coal has begun a new phase at the Optimum Colliery with mining operations transitioning to Liberty Mine Services, backed by major capital investments and a stabilized workforce. Meanwhile, Sibanye Stillwater has delivered one of the year’s strongest mining equity performances, climbing 250% on the back of asset optimization, debt reduction and renewed investor confidence.

In parallel, South Africa is scaling its downstream capacity. The country’s state-owned Central Energy Fund aims to expand the SAPREF refinery to between 400,000 and 600,000 barrels per day under a strategy that balances hydrocarbons with solar facilities and gas-to-power deployment totaling roughly 4 GW. This integrated approach is central to South Africa’s just energy transition, positioning oil, gas and renewables as mutually reinforcing drivers of supply security and industrial growth.

Upstream, exploration in the Orange Basin continues to accelerate. Energy major Shell is preparing a multi-well deepwater drilling campaign following recent approvals while French major TotalEnergies is planning a two-well wildcat program from 2026. New investment activity has reshaped the country’s acreage landscape, with exploration company Eco (Atlantic) securing a 75% interest in Block 1 and international majors acquiring stakes across Blocks 3B/4B and 11B/12B.

These developments are underpinned by strengthened regulatory frameworks, including the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act and the Gas Master Plan, which together aim to provide clarity, reduce risk and incentivize long-term project development across the value chain.

“Through targeted regulation, South Africa is significantly improving the business climate for international companies,” states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, AEC. “With progress across mining, hydrocarbons and gas-to-power, the country is creating a robust platform for investment and high-value project delivery.”

Minister Mantashe’s participation at the G20 African Energy Investment Forum is set to connect national developments to broader continental investment flows. Bringing together global financiers, operators, policymakers and service providers, the Forum is designed to catalyze partnerships and accelerate energy and resource projects that align with Africa’s industrial and economic development ambitions.

Click here (https://apo-opa.co/4ocsS6r) to register for the Forum. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

Source: APO – Report:

• Participating in the B20 Energy Mix & Just Transition Task Force, GE Vernova outlines priorities to help deliver a more affordable, reliable, sustainable, and secure energy future.
• West African Power Pool (WAPP) completes first full regional grid synchronization trial, supported by GE Vernova’s grid software and consulting services expertise.

GE Vernova, Inc. (NYSE: GEV) (www.GEVernova.com) is participating at B20 South Africa as part of the Energy Mix & Just Transition Task Force to help advance practical solutions that scale up more affordable, reliable, sustainable, and secure energy, and the grid infrastructure to support it. Alongside B20 participation, the company is highlighting a significant regional integration milestone achieved by the West African Power Pool (WAPP), supported by GE Vernova: WAPP conducted its first full regional electric system synchronization, unifying grid operations across 15 West African countries, including Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Mauritania. WAPP is a specialized agency of Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) in charge of promoting and developing power generation and transmission infrastructure, as well as coordinating power exchange among the ECOWAS member states.

 “At this moment, the B20 is a critical avenue to bring the private sector together with the commitments of the public sector to help lift up people through access to sustainable energy – from gas to renewables and a stronger grid – building a stronger future for all. As a member of the Energy Mix & Just Transition Task Force, GE Vernova is advancing practical, context specific solutions to accelerate a just and inclusive transition. And in West Africa, WAPP’s historic electric system synchronization shows what collaboration and technology can deliver,” said Roger Martella, Chief Corporate Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer, GE Vernova (https://apo-opa.co/3XEAvHJ).

The electric system synchronization offers several advantages, including enhanced accessibility for countries to tap regional capacity to reduce outages and improve reliability, expand cross-border electricity trading, and better integrate renewables. Building on last year’s deployment of GE Vernova’s GridOS® orchestration software at WAPP’s Information and Coordination Centre (ICC) (https://apo-opa.co/4o1V8bz) in Abomey-Calavi, Benin—the centralized command center for the ECOWAS interconnected grid—GridOS tools support dispatch, stability, and energy-flow forecasting across the network, giving operators real-time visibility to monitor, analyze, and optimize power flows. During the synchronization, GE Vernova’s GridOS® Wide Area Monitoring System (WAMS) tracked grid dynamics in near real time, while GE Vernova’s Consulting Services provided the technical foundation through Power System Stabilizer (PSS) tuning, governor field testing and settings updates, and coordination of the WAPP network synchronization. GE Vernova’s Grid Automation telecom solution provided the communications backbone linking the ICC to national dispatch centers across West Africa, enabling coordinated regional operations and accurate, real-time data transfer down to the substation level for synchronization decisions. This trial confirms multiple national transmission system operators can operate reliably under ICC coordination and paves the way for an open regional electricity market to enhance cross‑border power exchange across West Africa. This initial synchronization was a trial, with full permanent synchronization targeted for 2026.

At B20 South Africa, GE Vernova is also highlighting talent and skills as critical enablers of the transition. Globally, the GE Vernova Foundation is investing in technical and vocational pathways with a goal to reach 30,000 learners by 2030. In Johannesburg, the Next Engineers program has reached nearly 4,100 learners to date and awarded US$36,000 in scholarships to qualifying graduates. Complementing these efforts, GE Vernova awarded US$83,000 in scholarships to 10 South African graduates through its External Bursary Program, and since 2020 has provided comprehensive bursaries totaling US$7.3 million (R128.5 million) to more than 900 beneficiaries nationwide.

GE Vernova also recently convened the first Mendoza Collective Action Summit, bringing together public, private, and academic leaders to expand access to electricity in underserved communities and establishing the Mendoza Principles to guide future collaboration. “The global efforts underway to electrify the planet should enable all people to share in the benefits of affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy – and the economic opportunity it unlocks,” added Roger.

– on behalf of GE Vernova.

For more information, contact:
Abeer Masood
Communications Director – Middle East & Africa
GE Vernova
Abeer.Masood@gevernova.com

Follow GE Vernova:
LinkedIn (https://apo-opa.co/3JQ4fyi)

About GE Vernova​:
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV) is a purpose-built global energy company that includes Power, Wind, and Electrification segments and is supported by its accelerator businesses. Building on over 130 years of experience tackling the world’s challenges, GE Vernova is uniquely positioned to help lead the energy transition by continuing to electrify the world while simultaneously working to decarbonize it. GE Vernova helps customers power economies and deliver electricity that is vital to health, safety, security, and improved quality of life. GE Vernova is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., with approximately 75,000 employees across approximately 100 countries around the world. Supported by the Company’s purpose, The Energy to Change the World, GE Vernova technology helps deliver a more affordable, reliable, sustainable, and secure energy future. Learn more: GE Vernova (www.GEVernova.com), GE Vernova in Middle East & Africa (https://apo-opa.co/3Mfq3nu).

Source: APO

By Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani – CEO, EnergyInc Advisors (www.EnergyIncAdvisors.com) /Global Energy Finance and Strategy Leader 

With COP30 underway in Belém, Brazil, the global community is once again confronted with the urgency of climate action. For Africa however, the conversation must begin with a more fundamental question: how do we power the continent so that climate ambition does not outpace development reality?

While advanced economies frame climate progress around how quickly they can retire fossil fuels, Africa’s challenge is more foundational. Millions still lack reliable electricity. Without power, factories cannot operate, digital economies cannot thrive, and essential services – from hospitals to schools – remain constrained. Energy access is not merely a development aspiration. It is the bedrock upon which climate adaptation, resilience, and long-term economic transformation rest.

A transition that must be sequenced, not rushed

Africa’s clean energy potential is undeniable; abundant solar irradiation, strong wind corridors, hydro resources and world-class geothermal prospects. But potential alone will not close the energy gap. Grid constraints, weak storage systems, and limited industrial-scale capacity mean the transition must be phased and sequenced.

Renewables cannot shoulder the entire burden today. Managed, time-bound use of transitional fuels, including natural gas, remains essential to stabilising grids, supporting industry, and powering cities. This is not a call for indefinite fossil fuel dependence, but for a pragmatic pathway that allows Africa to scale clean energy without undermining growth.

Africa’s priorities at COP30: clarity and ambition

Africa produces less than 4 percent of global emissions but absorbs a disproportionate share of the climate fallout, droughts, floods, food insecurity, and displaced communities. Yet climate finance flows to the continent remain slow, fragmented, and heavily skewed toward mitigation rather than the adaptation Africa urgently needs.

At COP30, Africa’s message is focused and uncompromising (https://apo-opa.co/4psssKd):

• A new global climate finance target: no less than $1.3 trillion annually by 2030, with a significantly higher share allocated to adaptation, resilience and concessional finance.
• A fully operationalised Loss and Damage Fund, designed to deliver predictable, timely support without adding to Africa’s debt burdens.
• A just and inclusive energy transition, one that recognises Africa’s right to industrialise, create jobs and expand access while lowering emissions in a responsible and realistic way.
• Recognition of Africa’s natural ecosystems –  forests, mangroves, peatlands – as global public goods, deserving of sustained financing and market mechanisms that reward their stewardship.

Universal energy access must be the anchor of Africa’s climate roadmap

African governments and their partners must weave energy access into the heart of climate policy. This means scaling renewable energy investments, strengthening grids, reforming utilities, and designing transition pathways that reflect Africa’s demographics, industrial goals, and financing constraints.

Transitional fuels will continue to play a bridging role, but with transparent timelines and a clear strategy for shifting to cleaner sources as infrastructure matures. What Africa needs is not a binary choice between fossil and renewable, but a plan that delivers power where it is needed most, reliably, affordably, and sustainably.

Because as the world races toward net zero, the continent cannot remain energy-poor. A climate strategy that does not lift African households, clinics and schools out of energy poverty is neither just nor durable.

At COP30, the message must be unmistakable, it is that Africa’s development cannot be deferred, and energy access is central to that vision. A fair global climate future begins with a lit Africa, one where power enables productivity, resilience, and opportunity for all.

Driving Africa’s energy future through homegrown solutions

Africa’s transition will not be unlocked by ambition alone; it will be unlocked by sequencing and by capital. The continent cannot afford a transition model that demands synchronisation with wealthier economies while our grids remain weak and our capital systems under leveraged. With over $900 billion in pension, insurance, and sovereign assets, Africa holds significant pools of domestic capital that remain largely absent from energy infrastructure. The real opportunity now is to finance Africa’s transition with Africa’s money, in the right order: strengthen grids, scale renewables, and phase out transitional fuels as capacity deepens.

A transition that is both sequenced and self-financed is not only more realistic; it is the most sustainable path to universal energy access and long-term climate resilience.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of EnergyInc Advisors.

Source: APO

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1. Introduction: Why the Church’s Voice Matters

As the AU–EU Summit convenes in Luanda, the Catholic Church in Africa, represented by the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) (https://SECAM.org/), reaches out to all people of goodwill with a message of concern, truth, and hope. We speak as a Church deeply embedded in the daily lives of the African people, sharing in their joys and hopes, as well as their griefs and anxieties, particularly for the poor and afflicted (cf. Gaudium et Spes, n. 1). Our moral responsibility is informed by lived experiences throughout the continent, through our schools, universities, clinics, parishes, and communities.

2. The Significance of the Year 2025

The year 2025 holds particular significance, as the African Union has declared it the Year of “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations” and will launch the Decade of Reparations (2026-2036). The Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year calls for truth, renewal, and reparatory justice. Following COP30 in Belém, where voices from Churches in the Global South underscored the urgent need for ecological justice, climate finance, and respect for Indigenous and local communities, the AU–EU Summit must not only negotiate but also listen, remember, and address longstanding injustices.

3. Concerns Over Restricted Civil Society Participation

SECAM is compelled to highlight the restrictions imposed on civil society organizations in the official Summit process. Numerous African civil society organizations, including those willing to self-finance their participation, have been excluded. This includes faith-based organizations with a long-standing presence on the ground, humanitarian and justice networks linked to the Church, women’s and youth associations, farmer and Indigenous organizations, local development movements, and peacebuilding and reconciliation bodies. This exclusion raises a critical moral question: How can a summit focused on Africa’s future exclude those who support African communities daily?

4. The Parallel Peoples’ Summit in Luanda

In response to the official Summit’s inability to accommodate African civil society, a Parallel Peoples’ Summit has been organized at the Catholic University of Angola in Luanda on 19–20 November. This is not an act of rebellion; it is a necessary response to insufficient participatory channels, a lack of transparency, technocratic top-down processes, and an imbalance of power between institutions and communities.

5. Historical Responsibility and the Call for Reparatory Justice

The Church in Africa expects the AU–EU Summit to demonstrate honesty about history and a genuine commitment to reparations, acknowledging the ongoing impact of the Transatlantic slave trade, slavery, colonialism, neocolonialism, economic domination, and resource extraction as matters of historical fact and moral responsibility. We are deeply concerned that the European Union has not fully committed to reparatory justice for Africans and people of African descent, despite the fact that key members benefited from the Transatlantic slave trade and colonization. The legacy of this exploitation persists today in an unfair trade system and the transgenerational trauma suffered by Africans and people of African descent.

6. People-Centered Development

Guided by the Church’s social teaching principle of the primacy of the human person over systems, SECAM advocates for a people-centered development model. The joint SECAM–COMECE–Caritas–CIDSE statement warns that many AU–EU initiatives risk perpetuating extractive patterns; development must serve communities, not geopolitical interests. Reparatory justice is essential, encompassing both structural fairness and restorative healing.

7. Economic, Debt, and Ecological Justice

Economic and debt justice are crucial, as Africa’s debt burden—rooted in historical injustice—requires serious reform as a matter of justice, not pity. Following COP30 in Belém, ecological responsibility must be upheld, recognizing that ecological justice cannot be separated from social justice. Africa’s forests, water sources, mineral resources, biodiversity hotspots, and vulnerable communities must never again be sacrificed for profit, geopolitics, or external interests. Respect for African sovereignty and the sovereignty of its people is vital; African sovereignty belongs not only to governments but also to its citizens.

8. Conclusion: Toward a Strengthened AU–EU Partnership

The Church in Africa hopes for a renewed and strengthened AU–EU partnership. However, this requires inclusion rather than exclusion and transparency rather than opacity. A partnership that listens to the people will endure; a truly inclusive summit will foster trust, and a dialogue rooted in justice will have the power to heal historical wounds. The Church in Africa stands ready to accompany Africa and Europe toward a future of justice, peace, and human dignity.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).

Contact:
Rev. Fr. Uchechukwu Obodoechina
Director of SECAM – Justice, Peace and Development Commission
secamjpdcdirector@gmail.com
‪Tel: +233 55 733 7871

Rev. Fr. Louison Emerick Bissila Mbila, C.S.Sp.
SECAM Liaison Officer at the African Union
secamauliaisonoffice@gmail.com
Tel: +251 900 485 018