South Africa added 515 MW of new wind capacity in 2020 cementing its wind leadership on the African continent, a new Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) analysis shows. By the end of last year, South Africa had 2 500 MW of cumulative wind capacity installed, representing about 34% of the 7 300 MW of capacity installed across Africa and the Middle East.
Power project developer Red Rocket has announced the start of commercial operations at the 4 MW Kruisvallei hydropower plant, along the Ash River between Clarens and Bethlehem, in the Free State.
The completion of the plant comes almost two years since construction began on March 26, 2019.
The Eskom board has claimed that a number of allegations made in the public and media, including against its CEO Andre de Ruyter, are aiming to influence internal operations and good governance processes at the state power utility. These allegations and what the board regards as accompanying unwarranted attacks on Eskom’s management team, have, in its view, the potential effect of distracting management from the critical role of restoring Eskom to operational effectiveness and financial stability.
Look just beneath the surface of many of the technologies powering the energy transition and there’s a red metallic glint. Copper is a vital part of green infrastructure from grids to wind turbines, and a recent price surge threatens to make decarbonization more costly. Copper has doubled from the lows seen a year ago and is near a nine-year high. Amid predictions of a new commodity supercycle kicking off, many analysts say the top hasn’t yet been reached for a metal that’s core to the green energy drive.
While there is growing momentum across the world in investing in hydrogen and the related import and export value chains, management consulting company Kearney MD Romain Debarre warns that there is still a lack of supply and demand for the hydrogen economy. While there is a market for hydrogen consumption, and for finding and producing the clean fuel, “there is no real significant market at the moment for new green hydrogen”, he told delegates attending the Africa Gas Forum this week.
As gas opportunities rise owing to recent discoveries and Africa’s ongoing energy deficit, management consulting company Kearney metals and mining global lead Igor Hulak says gas provides a “viable opportunity” to decrease dependency on coal. “Natural gas will remain a critical element of the global energy portfolio as Southern Africa navigates the energy transition to address climate change and intends to provide electricity to more than 600-million people currently going without.”
Africa will require more energy sources than renewables to ensure the continent’s growth and its industrialisation, International Gas Union secretary general elect Andy Calitz told delegates attending the virtual Africa Gas Forum, on March 2. He said natural gas was already considered to be one of the most important sources of electricity in Africa, and that its use was likely to continue.
InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, and its project partner, independent power producer JCM Power, have announced their commitment to finance construction of the 20 MWAC Golomoti Solar project with a 5 MW/10 MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS). Golomoti Solar will be the first commercial-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Malawi to include a BESS and, along with its sister project, Salima Solar, Golomoti is among the first commercial-scale solar PV plants in the country.
A newly released study of the potential for developing a lithium-ion battery value chain in South Africa concludes that the country should prioritise minerals beneficiation and mining, as well as battery manufacturing as it seeks to carve out a niche for itself in what is a fast-growing, highly competitive and rapidly evolving market. Commissioned by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and written by Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), the report noted that South Africa already had pockets of excellence in both areas, whereas the business cases for cell manufacturing and recycling still had to be established.
UK-based industrial technology group Rolls-Royce has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Estonian company Fermi Energia. The purpose of the MoU is to study the potential to deploy small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in the Baltic country. All aspects of such a deployment, including cooling, economics, emergency planning, grid suitability, human resources, licensing feasibility and the supply chain, will be covered in the study. Rolls-Royce leads a consortium of companies and UK research centres, known as UKSMR, which is designing an SMR small nuclear power plant that would be constructed from standardised components manufactured in factories, using advanced manufacturing processes. This approach would drive down costs and rapidly speed up construction times, as the SMR and its associated plant would be delivered to the construction site in modular and component form and there assembled under a weatherproof canopy.
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