A drop in electricity generation in Ivory Coast and Ghana has left households and businesses fuming as well as cutting power supplies to neighbouring West African countries Mali and Burkina Faso, officials said. A prolonged dry season has reduced water levels at hydropower dams in both countries that in some cases could take months to resolve, hampering productivity, raising costs and hitting the economies of the world’s biggest cocoa producers.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has invited stakeholder comment on a proposed 10-year negotiated pricing agreement (NPA) between Eskom and the Hillside aluminium smelter, in KwaZulu-Natal, which is owned by South32 and is Eskom’s largest single customer. The proposed NPA is likely to attract much public scrutiny in light of the fact that the previous tariff agreement between Eskom and Hillside had been the subject of years of intense public scrutiny and criticism, including one proposal that supply to the smelter be terminated as a way of addressing growth-sapping load-shedding.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has revised upwards, by 25%, its forecasts for renewable-energy capacity additions for 2021 and 2022 relative to those published in November, arguing that the platform is now in place for a “new normal” of elevated levels of yearly deployments. In its ‘Renewable Energy Market Update’, published on May 11, the IEA reports that additions, principally in the form of solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind, surged by more than 45% last year to 280 GW.
Saudi energy generation and desalination company Acwa Power says construction has started on the 100 MW Redstone concentrated solar power (CSP) project after achieving financial close on the R11.6-billion project. Acwa, which is the lead shareholder in Redstone expects commercial operations to start in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has unveiled the theme for this year’s Windaba conference, ‘Renaissance of the Wind Energy Industry – Delivering Economic Benefits for South Africa’ . The two-day event, which returns to the Cape Town International Convention Centre following a virtual instance of the event last year, is scheduled to take place on October 7 and 8.
Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), which is made up of some of South Africa’s largest domestic and multinational companies, estimates that private firms would move to invest billions in new power generation capacity in the near term should the rules governing embedded or distributed plants be changed to support such projects. CEO Busi Mavuso says BLSA believes that companies could invest some R150-billion in new plants, most of which would arise in the form of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy “which is currently the least-cost source”.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) announced on Monday that it would oppose an Eskom High Court application seeking to review and set aside the Energy Regulator’s latest regulatory clearing account (RCA) determination. In an unusual step, the regulator also urged other stakeholders to join it in opposing the utility’s legal challenge.
Power utility Eskom has placed a senior manager in its coal procurement division on preliminary suspension, citing alleged corruption. This follows a whistle-blower tip-off to Eskom.
Asset manager Mergence has increased its shareholding of the two Ejuva renewable energy projects, in Gobabis, Namibia, from 17% to a majority stake of 66%. It acquired the 49% interest previously held by co-developer and initial part-financier energy engineering company CIGenCo.
Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about increasing calls for reforms to the Electricity Regulation Act that will truly unlock new private capacity.
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