Solar energy equipment company Nexans Solar Technologies’ (Nexans’) Keylios solar trackers have been installed at the La Fenasse site, a former Technical Landfill Center located near Béziers in southwestern France, which is currently being converted to a 1.6 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) farm. The La Fenasse project is being carried out in partnership with Omexom ENR SO, a subsidiary of the Vinci group, which is responsible for installing the trackers and the electrical package.
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has denied that the utility is delaying the introduction of new electricity capacity procured under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), as suggested by Minerals Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in a recent television interview. Speaking to Newzroom Afrika this week, Mantashe said that Eskom was “toing and froing” on the 11 RMIPPPP projects, including three powership projects, which was contributing to the delay in the introduction of 1 995 MW of new capacity.
Eskom says load-shedding will be suspended from 21:00 on Friday as seven generation units have returned to service. A unit each at Kendal, Camden and Grootvlei power stations as well as two units each at Majuba and Matimba power stations have returned to service. Overnight, two units at Majuba Power Station tripped and a further unit was shut down for emergency repairs. Furthermore, a unit each at Grootvlei and Tutuka power stations tripped. Of the five units, two units have since returned to service. Total breakdowns currently amount to 14 960 MW while planned maintenance is 3 345 MW of capacity.
Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about load-shedding continuing to present a danger, how the leadership of Eskom is handling the intense pressure it is facing, whether the policy and regulatory environment is supportive of a speedy resolution to the current crisis and the renewed focus on the 4 000 MW to 6 000 MW supply gap.
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has confirmed that the collapse of a distribution-line tower providing power to the coal conveyor system at the Lethabo power station, in the Free State, was a “deliberate act of sabotage”. The sabotage occurred at about 18:00 on Wednesday November 17 and was implemented in such a way as to ensure that the tower collapsed on to a second distribution line, providing double redundancy to the conveyor system.
Aligned to Liberty Two Degrees (L2D) Good Spaces building block, which aims to minimise the impact on the natural environment while creating spaces that are agile, adaptable and aligned to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals as well as L2D’s 2030 Net Zero carbon target, L2D’s Eastgate Shopping Centre has introduced three solar trees to the centre’s rooftop Piazza.
The South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) is expected to be finalised for adoption before the end of March, following which it will become the country’s implementation plan for the industrialisation of the renewables value chain. Work is still under way to achieve consensus between labour, business, civil society and government on what the priority actions should be and a complete first draft of the document should be released early next year.
Tutuka power station GM Sello Mametja is hopeful Eskom will be able to improve the energy availability factor (EAF) of the power station, near Standerton, Mpumalanga, above 70% by June next year. Mametja took over as GM of the power station nine months ago and told media during a site tour on November 18 that Tutuka was the worst-performing of Eskom’s power stations, with an EAF of only 34%.
French multinational utility company Engie has completed the acquisition of Abengoa’s indirect stake in Xina Solar One. Following completion of the transaction, Engie now holds a 40% equity stake in the Xina Solar One 100 MW concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, as well as a 46% stake in the Xina Operations & Maintenance Company.
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter reports that overt and covert security is being beefed up in and around the utility’s power stations following suspicious incidents at Matimba and Lethabo on November 17 that are suspected of not being “entirely coincidental”. In a briefing on the state of the system, which descended into load-shedding again on Wednesday, De Ruyter emphasised that he was typically wary off attributing to “malice what could be explained by incompetence”.
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