‘Emergency’ IPP power projects to be grid-connected by mid-2022

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office has set the long-stop date for projects under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) to start commercial operation as the end of June 2022.

The programme was gazetted by the department on July 17, with the aim of filling the current short-term energy supply gap that South Africa has, which the Integrated Resource Plan 2019 has determined to be 2 000 MW.

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Transition to green energy needs to happen as soon as possible, says think tank

The transition from burning fossil fuels and the large-scale emitting of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases to renewable energies needs to happen as quickly as the industry can manage, independent financial think tank Carbon Tracker Initiative founder and executive chairperson Mark Campanale stated this week.

During a September 23 webinar hosted by marine and energy lifecycle solutions company Wärtsilä, he suggested that businesses involved in the energy sector, particularly those using or producing fossil fuels, needed to quickly align themselves with the Paris Agreement, which falls within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

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SA’s transition to renewables

Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Creamer Media Editor Terence Creamer about the role of renewables in South Africa’s energy system, concerns that some industries and people may be left behind during this transition and some of the solutions being considered.
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Safety during wind turbine upgrades offered

Specialist design and manufacturing company Power Curve ApS has forged a strategic partnership with working at height specialists Dangle Rope Access, to help deliver specialist installation services for wind turbine performance upgrades across the UK’s wind farm sector. Announced in July, the partnership will combine Power Curve ApS wind turbine performance upgrade and testing services with Dangle’s range of flexible, high-quality and rapidly deployed access solutions.
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Manufacturing tipping point could be pushed back by innovation and tech – De Ruyter

Addressing the Manufacturing Circle annual general meeting (AGM) on September 22, Eskom CEO and former Manufacturing Circle former chairperson Andre de Ruyter said that investing in research, embracing innovation and technology and lowering manufacturing costs are equally critical in boosting manufacturing competitiveness, as is a collaborative approach.

The manufacturing sector has reached a “tipping point”, he said, adding that eliminating growth and investment barriers, while boosting the demand for local goods are just some of the measures required to place it on the path of success.

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Ten lessons to guide South Africa’s ‘just transition’ from coal to renewables

A new study, which outlines global best practices for just-transition journeys, includes ten lessons for South Africa to consider as the country prepares to navigate what it hopes will be a just transition, over the coming decades, from an electricity sector based on coal to one based increasingly on renewable energy. Published on September 23 by the RES4Africa Foundation, the study has been written in collaboration with South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and ERM.
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Russian and African organisations sign nuclear energy agreement

Russia’s State-owned nuclear energy group Rosatom signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (Afcone) this week. The MoU, signed simultaneously in Pretoria and Moscow, provides for cooperation between the two organisations in the peace uses of nuclear energy. The MoU establishes the basis for Rosatom and Afcone to cooperate in assisting African countries in implementing nuclear energy projects. It also covers the diversification of African states’ energy sources (including the use of renewable energy) and increasing their energy security. 
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Nersa says Eskom must be buyer of IPP power arising from new determination

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) says that Eskom should remain the buyer of the electricity produced by independent power producers (IPPs) and procured by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) in line with a new Section 34 Ministerial determination for 11 813 MW of new generation capacity. The regulator recently concurred with the determination and on September 22 published its reasons for that decision.
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CCBSA continues to ramp up solar power generation capacity

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) has ramped up its solar power generation capacity, with seven of its 13 manufacturing facilities now using solar power. CCBSA is plans to install solar power capacity at a further five of its plants by the end of this year.
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IRP’s wind component could trigger yearly investments of R40bn, create 144 000 jobs by 2030

The 14.4 GW of new wind included in South Africa’s electricity plan positions the country as a “top ten” wind-energy market for the coming decade, while building capacity at the yearly tempo of 1 600 MW envisaged in the plan could attract R40-billion a year in new investment and create 144 000 fulltime jobs by 2030. Speaking during a Team Europe Climate Diplomacy webinar on Tuesday, Vestas sales director Malte Mayer said that the wind allocation in South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 (IRP 2019) had placed South Africa “on the wind industry’s map again”.
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