Apollo Africa partners with WePower for renewable energy market platform

South African energy company Apollo Africa has announced a partnership with global energy technology company WePower, as well as the development of its Apollo Platform, subject to normal regulatory approvals. The partnership aims to accelerate the energy transition in the Southern African renewable energy market.
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GE Renewables, Fraunhofer enter research partnership for 3D printing for wind applications

NYSE-listed GE Renewable Energy, research institute Fraunhofer IGCV and 3D printing systems manufacturer voxeljet have entered into a research partnership aimed at developing the world’s largest three-dimensional (3D) printer for offshore wind applications in order to streamline the production of key components of GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbine. The partners expect to launch the project during the third quarter of this year, with initial printer trials to start in the first quarter of 2022.  
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Global alliance for sustainable energy formed 

A group of global leaders from across the renewable energy value chain and the sector’s innovation ecosystem on September 16 launched a new organisation aimed at ensuring renewables are wholly sustainable for people and the planet and lead a just transition away from fossil fuels. The partners, united in a shared vision for the sustainability of the renewables industry and the need to take concrete, collaborative action, have come together to create the Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy.
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Zimbabwe turns to Mozambique, Zambia to Ease 12-Hour Power Cuts

Zimbabwe asked Mozambique and Zambia to supply it with more electricity as it tries to fill a power shortfall that’s led to outages of 12 hours a day. “We are in discussions with Mozambique for the recently commissioned power plants to give us an additional 180 MW,” Energy Minister Soda Zhemu told lawmakers Wednesday, according to a transcript on parliament’s website. “We are also at final stage of discussion with Zambia to get an additional 100 MW”.
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Kibo Energy invests in UK waste-to-energy project

JSE-listed renewable energy company Kibo Energy has signed a heads of terms with Aim-listed gasification solutions company EQTEC to acquire a 54.54% interest in the proposed 25 MW Billingham waste gasification and power plant at Haverton Hill, in Teesside, in the UK. It is expected that Kibo will acquire a 54.54% equity stake in the project special-purpose vehicle (SPV).
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South Africa’s battery energy storage market poised for growth

A South African energy project finance specialist estimates that the country’s near-term battery energy storage project pipeline could grow to about R53-billion over the coming three years, potentially making the country one of the largest adopters of such systems globally. The estimate includes assumptions not catered for in the country’s Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 (IRP 2019), however, and also assumes large growth in private battery storage investment.
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UN council urges Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan to restart dam talks

The UN Security Council on Wednesday urged Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan to resume African Union-led talks to reach a binding deal “within a reasonable timeframe” over the operation of a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. Egypt and Sudan had both called on the council to help resolve the dispute after Ethiopia began filling the reservoir behind its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in July for a second year. Ethiopia is opposed to any council involvement.
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Rich nations head to South Africa seeking coal exit deal

Four of the world’s richest nations will send a delegation to South Africa as soon as next week to seek a deal to begin closing the country’s coal-fired plants, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials from the US, UK, France and Germany are looking for an agreement with Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., which generates almost all of South Africa’s power from a fleet of 15 coal plants. Any deal struck could be announced during the United Nations climate talks known as COP26, set to start in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oct. 31, one of the people said.
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BlueNova opens Intelligent Energy Storage Systems production facility

South African energy storage company BlueNova Energy on September 15 launched its new office and factory space in Pretoria East.  The official opening of the new Intelligent Energy Storage Systems (iESS) production facility marks a critical milestone towards achieving BlueNova’s production goal of producing 200 MWh monthly for 2022.
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Coalition plans marches in pursuit of a just transition

Youth leaders, civil society groups, trade unions and grassroots movements under the Climate Justice Coalition have expressed dissatisfaction with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and will, as a result, hold planned nationwide marches, it said on September 15. The coalition bemoaned that the DMRE “has continued to approve gas and coal projects while disregarding any just energy plan”.
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