Women-owned Meadows Energy, G7 Renewable Energies partner for Oya hybrid energy project

Wholly women-owned energy company Meadows Energy has been announced as G7 Renewable Energies’ partner for the Oya hybrid energy project, which straddles the the Western and Northern Cape provinces in South Africa. The 128 MW Oya hybrid facility, which will eventually offer dispatchable renewable energy as part of the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), will use co-located wind turbines, solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays, lithium-ion batteries and a hybrid controller that orchestrates all three technologies to provide dispatchable power to the grid as and when needed.
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Wind industry committed to cooperating with govt to address the current power crisis

The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has welcomed the call from government to procure additional wind and solar energy from independent power producers (IPPs) to supply, over and above, what is currently allowed under their existing power purchase agreements (PPAs). SAWEA has engaged with its members to ascertain if the sector is able to provide additional power, in line with the recent call by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).
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EU regulations can benefit bioethanol production in South Africa

European Union (EU) regulations that are supportive of bioethanol use will provide an opportunity for South Africa in terms of the production of ethanol fuels through various manufacturing methods. South Africa produces just over 400-million litres of ethanol a year, of which 180-million is used for potable purposes and traded within Africa at a good price, but it does not have a “very vibrant” ethanol sector yet, largely owing to the country’s unsupportive regulatory framework.
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Honouring $100bn/y climate-finance pledge key to catalysing developing country energy transitions

Annual clean energy investment in emerging and developing economies needs to increase by more than seven times, from less than $150-billion in 2020 to over $1-trillion by 2030, if the world is to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, a new report shows. The ‘Financing Clean Energy Transitions in Emerging and Developing Economies’ report warns that economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America are set to account for the bulk of emissions growth in the coming decades unless stronger action is taken to transform their energy systems.
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UAE ratifies extradition treaty as South Africa pursues Guptas

The United Arab Emirates Embassy in South Africa said it has ratified an extradition treaty with the African country. The treaty was signed on April 11, the embassy said in a statement on Wednesday. Clayson Monyela, a spokesman for the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, confirmed the statement.
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Eskom moves to Stage 4 load-shedding from 14:00 to 22:00

Load-shedding will be increased to Stage 4 from 14:00 this afternoon until 22:00 tonight, after which it will revert to Stage 2, Eskom has announced. It says this is due to additional breakdowns of a unit at Medupi and two units at the Duvha power station, together with the high winter demand, as well as to ration the remaining emergency generation reserves, which have been depleted.
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Wind could produce affordable green hydrogen by 2030, Siemens Gamesa says

Wind power could make it possible to produce hydrogen without emitting greenhouse gases as cheaply as is currently feasible with fossil fuel energy by 2030, turbine maker Siemens Gamesa said in a white paper released on Wednesday. Policymakers see green hydrogen, which is made with renewable power without emitting carbon, as a vital tool to help shift economies away from planet-warming energy sources and to stave off climate change, but want to reduce its sky-high costs.
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Gas a bridge for South Africa to become a low-carbon economy

South Africa will need to use gas as a “very solid bridge” to ensure a just and inclusive transition to a low-carbon economy, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Business School professor Maurice Radebe has said. The feedstock’s acting as a bridge, he explained during a presentation at the Enlit Africa conference on June 8, is feasible when one considers that gas has 55% less emissions than coal.
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Stage 2 load-shedding from 5pm – Eskom

Stage 2 load-shedding will be implemented from 17:00 on Tuesday due to delays bringing generating units back online, Eskom said in a statement.  Eskom earlier warned that the power system was severely constrained. Breakdowns currently total 15 498 MW of capacity, while another 1 273 MW of capacity is unavailable due to planned maintenance. Unit 1 of the Koeberg power station has been offline since January for maintenance work. It was supposed to return to service last month, but this still hasn’t happened.
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Renewable energy organisations to host second series of business development webinars

Following a successful webinar series on business opportunities in the renewable energy sector in 2020, a second series started in May this year in collaboration between the South Africa Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) and the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA).

The 2020 editions served as a capacity building programme for aspiring renewable energy developers to share knowledge and drive effective change, while the second series is themed on developing the local renewable energy value chain.

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