Diversified miner Exxaro Resources will no longer invest in thermal coal assets, as this forms part of the company’s transition to becoming carbon neutral by 2050 in terms of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, CEO Mxolisi Mgojo said on February 2. Speaking during an environmental, social and governance- (ESG-) focused panel discussion on the first day of this year’s virtual Investing in African Mining Indaba event, Mgojo said the company would “continue in the coalfield” as long as it was viable, and for as long as power stations – like Medupi and Matimba – are in operation in line with existing supply contracts.
Business organisation Business Unity South Africa (Busa) applauds the statement made by Eskom CEO André de Ruyter during a webinar on February 2, in favour of lifting the licencing exemption threshold for electricity generation. “Busa Energy structures have considered the analysis conducted by Meridian Economics and the survey conducted by EE Business Intelligence. We support the findings that up to 5 000 MW potential of private distributed generation could be unlocked if the licencing exemption threshold is lifted to 50 MW. “In the current circumstances, this is material incremental capacity that could be sourced from the private sector,” says Busa VP Martin Kingston.
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter says the State-owned utility is fully supportive of moves by large customers to develop embedded generation plants to power their operations, as well as growing calls to lift the licensing threshold from 1 MW to 50 MW so as to accelerate these investments. South Africa, he told participants in an ENSafrica webinar on Tuesday, faced an ongoing supply crunch that could not be closed by the procurement of 13 800 MW of new utility scale capacity alone, as catered for by the Ministerial determinations gazetted to unlock investments in line with the Integrated Resource Plan.
The Southern African Development Community’s (SADC’s) Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (Sacreee) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) to accelerate decentralised renewable energy deployment in Southern Africa.
The two organisations will also cooperate on policy development, capacity building programmes and regional events aimed at attracting investments to the region.
Market dynamics for embedded generation projects in South Africa have shifted materially over the past 12 months as an increasing number of mines and power-heavy industrial firms moved to install renewable-energy facilities at a time when government is also starting to resume utility scale procurement. In fact, Cresco executive director Robert Futter, who is advising several energy intensive firms on their power generation projects, reports that, as of the first quarter of 2021, there has been a decisive swing from a “buyer’s to a seller’s market”.
Environmental Affairs Minister Barbara Creec said she rejected pleas for leniency from senior executives at the country’s two biggest air polluters as she responded to a lawsuit that says her office has breached constitutional rights to clean air. In a 260-page answering affidavit to a lawsuit filed against her by environmental non profits she argued that while the country’s developmental needs must be balanced against environmental concerns, she had nevertheless acted to try and improve air quality.
Binational organisation the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has reiterated and clarified its Covid-19-impacted stakeholder engagement process amid preparations to start building the multibillion-dollar 2 400 MW Batoka Gorge hydropower project on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The cross-border hydroelectric facility is expected to produce 10 215 GWh/y of electricity, which will be shared between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is envisioned that the project will be completed in 2026, after starting construction in mid-2022.
Renewable power producer Scatec on February 1 confirmed that it had received all necessary approvals for its $1.16-billion buyout of SN Power from Norfund and that all suspensive conditions have been met. “This acquisition forms a very important part of our broadened growth strategy, with ambitions to become a global player in solar, hydro, wind and storage solutions, and an integrator of high-value infrastructure solutions,” said Scatec CEO Raymond Carlsen.
State-owned power utility Eskom indicated during a court hearing on Friday that it would not seek to recover more than R23-billion in additional revenue through the tariff during its 2021/22 financial year, implying that any possible hike implemented on April 1 would be capped at about 15.5%. However, Advocate Matthew Chaskalson, who acted for Eskom, told Justice Joseph Raulinga that any amount less than R23-billion would be financially unsustainable for the utility and potentially “socially disastrous”, as yet more fiscal resources would have to be diverted from other social needs to shore up Eskom’s finances.
South African State-owned nuclear technology company, NTP Radioisotopes (NTP), has received an unqualified audit for a second year in a row. NTP is part of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (better known as Necsa) group, but its finances are managed independently of the group and submitted separately to the Auditor General. NTP manufactures and processes radioisotopes, mainly for medical applications. Three years ago, it was shut down because of regulatory noncompliances, and ceased production for 18 months.
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