State-owned monopoly power supplier Eskom said on Friday it would lift all planned power cuts – locally called “load-shedding” – in the country from 8pm local time. The company, which runs a fleet of ageing thermal coal-fired power plants, had been implementing power cuts ranging from two to seven hours a day over the past week due to breakdowns at its sites.
The lack of electricity at the Johannesburg market since October 26 owing to cable theft is having a disastrous impact on the quality and safety of agricultural products, agricultural industry organisation Agri SA executive director Christo van der Rheede said on October 29. “During power outages, the market does not have the ability to supply power to the cold storage rooms. This has resulted in these storage rooms operating without cooling since October 26, with disastrous consequences to agricultural products. The value of stock in these cold rooms amounts to between R30-million and R61-million.”
The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has welcomed the announcement that 12 onshore wind projects have been included in Bid Window 5 (BW5) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on October 28 announced the 25 preferred bidders for BW5.
Leaders of the Group of 20 wealthy economies are preparing to pledge to stop funding foreign coal-fired plants, but are still wrangling over climate objectives that are crucial to keeping global temperatures in check, according to a draft statement for this weekend’s summit.
The 11-page document seen by Bloomberg, which is still being negotiated by diplomats in Rome ahead of the meeting, shows key deliverables have yet to be agreed. The draft, dated Thursday, refers to the “existential challenge” of climate change.
Renewable energy producer Scatec has had three solar projects, totalling 273 MW, included under Bid Window 5 of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). Scatec will sell power from the solar plants to power utility Eskom under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
US automotive manufacturer Tesla’s South African partner Rubicon Group and JSE-listed Growthpoint Properties have joined forces to highlight the environmental advantages of making use of renewable energy to provide some of the power requirements of buildings, such as Growthpoint’s 144 Oxford, in Rosebank. Sustainable technology company Rubicon Group brought the first Tesla Model X Performance Edition all-electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) into the country to raise renewable energy’s profile in the country, a move which the companies believe to be indicative that the combination of a high-performance car and highly-efficient green buildings “is powering greater awareness of positive ecological change”.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe finally ended a destructive near seven-year disruption to the procurement of renewable energy in South Africa, when he announced the names of 25 wind and solar preferred bidders on Thursday night. The bidders are expected to build 2 583 MW of new generating assets, and introduce these into the country’s power-stressed grid within the coming 36 months.
A free smart device app and Web-based tool has been developed to enable anyone in South Africa to measure how much energy, cost and greenhouse-gas emissions savings will be achieved by switching to light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, while ensuring the quality of luminescence is maintained or improved. A team from State-owned South African National Energy Development Institute (Sanedi), supported by German development agency GIZ and the South African German Energy Partnership, investigated three public sites in South Africa used by government agencies or departments using the app, and each site demonstrated significant savings in energy and costs, as well as rapid payback periods of up to two years, Sanedi Renewable Energy Centre of Research and Development manager Dr Karen Surridge said on October 28.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has notified the Gauteng division of the High Court that it will oppose Eskom’s application to have the regulator’s decision to reject the utility’s fifth multiyear price determination (MYPD5) revenue application reviewed and set aside. Eskom approached the court on October 15 after the regulator voted, on September 30, to reject Eskom’s MYPD5 submission for the three financial years from 2022/23 to 2024/25.
As a potential means to transition away from fossil-fuel-based electricity generation methods and towards greater decarbonisation of its energy mix, independent system modeler Clyde Mallinson this week said South Africa needs to build energy storage solutions to bridge the gap between when renewable energy is produced and when it is not to meet daily and peak demand.
Speaking during a webinar on the system benefits of energy storage on October 27, he said South Africa’s peak hourly electricity demand was 34.1 GW, while its average hourly demand was 26.4 GW.
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