Solar resource technical service providers GeoSUN has expanded into the wind energy industry through a newly formed brand GeoWIND. “We see the future of renewables being a combination of solar, wind and batteries, as well as other renewables. Clients will most likely be looking for a single service provider to offer both wind and solar measurements on their project site,” says GeoSUN MD Riaan Meyer.
South Africa aims to meet with other governments and multilateral finance institutions on the sidelines of the upcoming COP26 gathering to progress talks on raising concessional funding, in phases, for a Cabinet-endorsed ‘Just Transition Financing Facility’ to fund green projects in the electricity, automotive and hydrogen sectors. As part of the first phase, South Africa is proposing a multitranche, multiyear facility, funded by a multilender syndicate, to fund decarbonisation and green projects.
The continued absence of a long-term vision for South Africa’s energy sector is creating a policy “vacuum” and undermining investment, the 2021 edition of the South African Energy Risk Report states. Published by the South African National Energy Association (Sanea), the report highlights that the country still has no overarching policy that offers an integrated approach to the energy sector.
Water-scarce Egypt aims to more than quadruple desalination capacity by granting private companies concessions from its sovereign wealth fund to build 17 plants over the next five years with sustainable solar energy. The plan fits into Egypt’s push to diversify its sources of fresh water for a fast-growing population as it faces competition for Nile river water from the giant hydropower dam that Ethiopia is building upstream.