Report reveals minigrid benefits for Africa

Minigrid electricity developer industry association, the Africa Minigrids Developers Association (Amda), on August 13 launched its ‘Benchmarking Africa’s Minigrids’ report, which finds that minigrids outperform utilities in terms of affordability, with average installed costs of $733 a connection.

The report measures industry performance through a comprehensive collection of data across 12 countries and 28 companies.

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Opinion: Unpacking pertinent questions related to municipalities procuring power from IPPs

In this opinion piece, South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) CEO Ntombifuthu Ntuli writes about questions that need to be addressed as the regulatory environment becomes more conducive for municipalities to procure power directly from independent power producers (IPPs). Draft amendments to the Electricity Regulations Act on New Generation Capacity were published by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe for public comment, in May this year.  In broad strokes, the amendments will pave the way for municipalities, with good financial standing, to be able to either develop or obtain their own power-generation capacity from IPPs.
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Stage 2 load-shedding to continue, Eskom says

Despite successfully returning four generation units to service, Eskom on Thursday has said this will not stave off load-shedding and has announced that it will continue to implement Stage 2 load-shedding until 10pm on Thursday and between 8am and 10pm on Friday. “This load-shedding has been caused by an increase in plant breakdowns over the past few days. Staying on Stage 2 load-shedding will also assist us in preserving our emergency generation reserves, namely diesel and water,” the power utility said in a statement.
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Risk of load-shedding could worsen

Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Creamer Media Editor Terence Creamer about new analysis published by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research that shows that load-shedding in 2020 has surpassed that of 2019 and, if urgent action is not taken, South Africa is likely to face more power cuts for at least the next two years.
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Rising demand for lithium-ion-powered forklifts anticipated

“The demand for lithium-ion-powered forklifts is increasing locally, owing to companies wanting to reap the benefits of energy efficiency and cost effectiveness, as well as in preparation for changing legislation regarding emissions,” says forklift distributor for Masslift Africa national sales manager Hugh Golden.  “A significant reason for clients moving away from forklifts powered by diesel or liquified petroleum gas (LPG) to lithium-ion-powered forklifts is the latter’s cost-effectiveness in terms of longer life cycles, as the forklifts are maintenance-free,” Golden highlights. 
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The use of recycled plastic used to store electrical energy demonstrated in the US

Researchers in the US have successfully used recycled plastic to create rapidly-charging energy storage devices. The research team is composed of engineering professors and students at the University of California Riverside (UCR), and they have been working on using sustainable resources – ranging from glass bottles to portabella mushrooms – to create improved energy storage materials for some years now. Their latest development involves the ‘upcycling’ of waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. PET is widely used in consumer products, most prominently in soft drink (in US parlance, soda) bottles. 
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DMRE calls for engagement over litigation following IPP judgment

The Department of  Mineral Resources and Energy has urged stakeholders in the electricity industry to engage on an ongoing basis to avoid litigation, following a court ruling this week referring a dispute between the Minister and the City of Cape Town over the procurement  of electricity from independent power producers back to the parties to seek a settlement. The City of Cape Town has, since 2015, been in dispute with the national government and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa regarding its right to contract directly with IPPs, after it failed to receive a response from the Energy Minister to its request for a Ministerial determination under Section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act to enable it to do so.
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Eskom to resume rolling power cuts due to generation unit breakdowns

South Africa’s electricity utility Eskom said on Thursday it would implement rotational powercuts from 8am to 10pm  due to an increase in breakdowns of its generation units, warning that the blackouts could continue into the weekend. “The delay of the return to service of two units at Duvha and Tutuka and the breakdowns of four units at Kriel, Tutuka and Kendal have resulted in the need for load-shedding today,” it said in a statement.
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Despite Covid-induced demand slump, load-shedding surpasses 2019 levels and risk of more cuts rises

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) reported on Wednesday that load-shedding during 2020 had already surpassed that of 2019, which had hitherto been the country’s worst-ever year for load-shedding. In addition, it again warned that, absent urgent action, the risk of load-shedding would worsen and persist for at least two more years, but possibly to 2025.
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Eskom again warns of constrained power system

State-owned power utility Eskom on August 12 reported that the national grid was, once again, severely constrained as the result of seven units being offline for various reasons.

The utility noted that five of its units that were due for a return-to-service had been delayed, while a further two have either been shut down or tripped.

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