In 2001, the Compagnie Thermique de Belle Vue (CTBV), a joint-venture composed of Harel FrÈres of Mauritius, Frances Cidec, the Sugar Investment Trust of Mauritius and the State Investment Fund, built a 70-MW facility north of the Mauritian capital of Port Louis. The CTBV plant utilizes bagasse (biomass refuse from the processing of sugar cane) as its primary fuel. Swaziland has expressed interest in a bagasse power plant; however, the project has been stalled for seven years. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is currently financing a feasibility study of a planned bagasse power plant in Tanzania.
Solar energy is viewed as a prime tool for SADCs rural (off-grid) electrification programs, which have been slowed by the high costs of grid extension services. Zambias government has encouraged investment by eliminating all import duties on solar panels and waiving the otherwise obligatory annual License fees for solar energy projects. In November 2004, the Gobabeb Training and Research Center inaugurated the Gobabeb hybrid mini-grid installation in the Namib Desert.