Sasol’s rights issue and 2.0 transformation programme

Sasol is still mulling over whether or not to proceed with a rights issue to help it deal with its debt burden. Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses this and the ‘Sasol 2.0’ transformation programme.
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Genset range equipped with built-in automatic transfer switch panel

In response to market requirements for a stationary quality genset (generator set), power solutions provider HIMOINSA launched the new HS stationary genset range in October.   HIMOINSA Southern Africa business development director Matthew Bell explains that the design of the range resulted in the removal of unnecessary components for a stationary application.
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Bigger not always better with gensets – OEM

Bigger is not always better when considering generators (gensets) and standby power, and it is vital that site-specific power requirements and conditions are taken into account during the design phase of these power supply products, says local manufacturer Zest WEG.
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Solar project roll-out under way as Ford eyes energy self-sufficiency by 2024

The Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has kicked off a 13.5 MW, R135-million solar-energy project at its Silverton assembly plant, in Pretoria. The project forms part of a larger programme to develop an integrated renewable- energy solution for the facility, with the aim to be entirely green and energy self-sufficient by 2024.
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Fall in energy efficiency investment threatens climate goals – IEA

Investment in energy efficiency worldwide is on course to fall by 9% in 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts, warning that the Covid-induced slump threatens international climate goals. The agency’s ‘Energy Efficiency 2020’ report estimates that global primary energy intensity will improve by less than 1% this year, its weakest rate in a decade and well below the level of progress needed to meet climate, pollution-reduction and energy-access targets.
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Upscaling of wind technician training needed to support 14.4 GW roll-out

The planned growth of South Africa’s wind-energy sector over the coming decade, and beyond, will require a material upscaling of the country’s training infrastructure to ensure that there are sufficient South African wind technicians trained to support the building and maintenance of an expanding turbine fleet. South African Wind Energy Association CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli indicated on Thursday that more than 1 700 wind turbine service technicians would be required by 2030 to help build the 14.4 GW of new wind capacity outlined for installation by that date, as well as to service a fleet of some 17.7 GW.
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Financing instruments need to be overhauled for a successful just transition

Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) points out that South Africa needs to overhaul its existing financing mechanisms and instruments if communities are to truly benefit from a just energy transition to a green economy.

This emerged as a central theme during a TIPS-hosted development dialogue webinar, which was held to discuss a number of possible options to finance the just transition process in South Africa.

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Sasol keeps rights-issue powder dry having ‘banked’ $3bn in disposals

Debt-laden chemicals and energy group Sasol is keeping its rights-issue powder dry, indicating on Wednesday that a final decision on any possible issuance, including its scale, will depend on various factors, including whether or not it is successful in completing yet more asset disposals. CEO Fleetwood Grobler reported on Wednesday that a “go or no-go” decision on the rights issue would be announced in February, when the group was scheduled to release its interim results for the 2021 financial year.
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Germany scraps renewable fee on hydrogen to encourage new technology

Germany’s government on Wednesday lifted a charge levied on power prices to support renewable energy on the production of so-called green hydrogen to encourage a nascent technology for low-carbon fuels, which is still hampered by high costs. The Berlin cabinet decided to waive the renewable energy fee under the EEG feed-in tariff law for electricity derived from wind and sun, following an economy ministry initiative, government sources said.
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Proposed 2 400 MW Batoka Gorge hydro scheme to have major impact on adventure tourism

The main environmental and social impacts of the propose 2 400 MW Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric Scheme (BGHES) on the Zambezi river, including serious negative impacts on adventure tourism and on the habitat of a rare bird species, were highlighted during a virtual stakeholder engagement on Wednesday. Located 47-km downstream of the Victoria Falls, the proposed project is being advanced by the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), a binational organisation owned jointly by the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and which is responsible for managing the Kariba dam and its reservoir, as well as for sustainably harnessing the hydropower potential of the Zambezi river.
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