Outa notes with concern Nersa subcommittee’s recommendation to approve 2 500 MW of new …

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) reports with “extreme concern” that the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) electricity subcommittee has conditionally indicated approval, on August 20, of the government’s proposal that South Africa should build another 2 500 MW of nuclear power generation capacity.

Outa points out that the Nersa subcommittee’s decision is only a recommendation to the Nersa board, which will then take the final decision.

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Ability to sell electricity to multiple customers made explicit in updated 100-MW reform amendment

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has gazetted an updated version of the amendment to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act that he first gazetted on August 12. The update, which is dated August 19, makes it clear that electricity sales from sub-100 MW projects, which are exempted from licensing with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), can be to “one or more customers”.
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DMRE confirms 102 solar and wind bids as renewables procurement resumes

The Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) has released the project names and technologies bid in repones to bid window five of Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), the bid deadline for which was August 16. The list released shows that 63 solar photovoltaic (PV) projects have been bid alongside 39 onshore wind projects.
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US moves to secure critical minerals for EV supply chain

Modern civilisation was built on fossil fuels, with the invention and commercialisation of the internal combustion engine during the 1800s setting the stage for petroleum-based vehicles to be dominant worldwide for the next 150 years. Various oil majors continue to produce huge volumes of oil and natural gas, owing to fossil fuels still being used to meet the majority of the world’s energy requirements.
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Repower, repurpose plans under way for utility

State-owned power utility Eskom is progressing with plans to repower and repurpose some of its coal power stations, build greenfield power plants with cleaner technologies and invest in necessary grid infrastructure to support these plans. Repowering and repurposing the Komati power station, in Mpumalanga, is being prioritised by Eskom this year.
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Court decision could increase electricity prices, revenue

National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) is appealing a High Court application that State-owned power utility Eskom brought against Nersa last year, which states that Nersa exceeded its boundaries regarding the determination on tariff adjustments requested by Eskom. Energy sector law firm LNP Attorneys CEO Nikita Lalla explains that Eskom’s argument – that Nersa had “gone beyond its statutory or regulatory regime in regard to determining tariff increases and the information the regulator was allowed to take into consideration in that endeavour” – was upheld by the courts.
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Energy study on grid capacity to assist Eskom

Stellenbosch University (SU), in the Western Cape, is conducting a study to examine grid capacity and determine ideal locations for renewable-energy projects that will support the grid. The study is funded by global organisation the European Climate Foundation (ECF); SU reports on the results of the study to the ECF and State-owned power utility Eskom.
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Legislative guidance needed to unlock renewable- energy-storage benefits

The use of renewable energy, such as solar photovoltaic, and exploring energy storage technologies, are integral to balancing the local energy mix in South Africa, including in the domestic and commercial sectors of the country. However, government needs to provide more guidance in terms of legislation in order to better implement these energy storage solutions correctly to the benefit of all relevant stakeholders, including State-owned power utility Eskom and end-users, states solar energy equipment supplier Valsa Trading MD Svilen Voychev.
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Renewables can benefit from second-hand batteries uptake

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe’s announcement of the opening of Bid Window 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) in March this year will result in significant opportunities to use more energy storage technologies locally, says battery equipment supplier REVOV MD Lance Dickerson. The REIPPPP will procure 2 600 MW of renewable energy from independent power producers and REVOV is “uniquely positioned” to provide affordable energy storage solutions, owing to the growing availability of second-hand lithium-iron phosphate batteries.
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Gauteng ‘day-zero drought’ is South Africa’s biggest near-term climate risk, IPCC …

A leading South African climate scientist believes a ‘Gauteng day-zero drought’ represents the biggest near-term climate change risk faced by the country, which is poised to become hotter and drier as average global temperatures rise. Francois Engelbrecht, who is a distinguished professor of Climatology at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Global Change Institute and a lead author of chapter four of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) recently released Working Group One Sixth Assessment Report, says the Southern African region has been identified as a climate-change hot spot, owing to a projected rate of temperature change that will be twice the global average.
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