Emissions ‘unavoidable’ even if cleanest coal generation technology is used – report

Dr Ranajit Sahu, an engineer with more than three decades of experience in power plant design, has found that large quantities of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions are “unavoidable”, even if the cleanest available technology is used for new coal-fired power generation. South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity (IRP) 2019 claims that new coal generation capacity will be cleaner because high-efficiency, low-emission (HELE) generation technology will be used, although it does not state which kind.
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UK Climate Investments fulfils commitment, investing R500m in African renewables fund

Pilot investment programme UK Climate Investments on August 18 fulfilled its cornerstone commitment of R500-million to help establish Africa’s first dedicated renewable energy yieldco, which is managed by majority black-owned fund manager Revego Fund Managers. Revego aims to tackle the challenge of a lack of access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, and accelerate the deployment of new clean electricity generation capacity by acquiring equity in operational renewable energy projects across the region, helping developers unlock and recycle capital.
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Committee pleased Sasol is complying with air-quality obligations

The Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment says it is generally satisfied with the compliance of chemicals company Sasol with its obligations on air quality; however, State-owned power utility Eskom is not complying with its obligations owing to delays encountered in its air-quality offset programme. This information comes from briefings received by the committee from the Department of Health on August 17 on the cost of air pollution in South Africa, as well as from Eskom and Sasol on their purported non-compliance with the environmental laws. 
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De Ruyter outlines green reindustrialisation vision for South Africa

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has outlined the case for leveraging South Africa’s transition to green energy to reverse the country’s “vicious cycle of deindustrialisation and unemployment” and to trigger a “virtuous cycle of local demand for local goods to create investment and jobs”. Delivering the Dr Hendrik Johannes van der Bijl Memorial Lecture during a virtual event hosted by the University of Pretoria and the South African Academy of Engineering, De Ruyter rejected the notion of South Africa abandoning manufacturing in favour of commodity exports and services.
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