To achieve a successful localisation programme with incremental local content thresholds as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), a consistent procurement pipeline needs be established, says industry association South Africa Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli. The stop-start nature of procurement, and latent bid windows, severely damaged the meaningful momentum, pre-2015, which established new manufacturing capacity within the wind and solar value chains in South Africa.
The Minerals Council South Africa is encouraging the uptake of distributed generation (also called self-generation) of power in South Africa, especially considering that South Africa is facing an electricity supply gap. The impact of this is “huge”, Minerals Council CEO Roger Baxter told delegates participating in the virtual Energy & Mines Africa conference.
The chairperson of the South African Independent Power Producer Association (SAIPPA) believes that the quickest and cheapest way to reduce, or eliminate, South Africa’s growth-sapping risk of load-shedding would be for Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to issue a Ministerial determination catering for private-to-private electricity supply agreements. Through Section 34 of the Energy Regulation Act (ERA), the Minister, in consultation with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), is empowered to determine that new generation capacity is needed to ensure the continued uninterrupted supply of electricity.
A solar photovoltaic (PV) green skills, enterprise development and sustainability research programme was launched on May 4 with the aim to upskill 900 youth, women and entrepreneurs over the next three years. The programme is aimed at ensuring the participation of the youth, women and entrepreneurs in the green economy.
Electrical energy solutions provider Senergy energy specialist Wilco de Villiers has encouraged miners to consider the value of implementing hybrid energy systems at their operations, as mines cannot function effectively without reliable energy supply. Speaking during this year’s Energy & Mines Africa conference, De Villiers said mines should expect hybrid power systems to at least maintain the reliability and predictability of the power system, if not improve it.
Murray & Roberts (M&R) subsidiary Clough has been awarded a R1.1-billion contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of the Tallawarra B gas turbine power station in New South Wales, Australia. Tallawarra B is a 300 MW expansion of the existing Tallawarra A power station.
Eskom Holdings said the South African state utility is unable to agree to certain union demands over wage increases and declined to make an offer on basic salary until labor groups respond. The loss-making electricity provider “cannot afford” proposals such as an improvement in pay inequality, according to a May 4 letter reviewed by Bloomberg. A request by unions to raise worker housing allowance has “no justification” and the required funds aren’t available in any case, the company said.
A new International Energy Agency (IEA) report is warning of a potential supply deficit for some of the ‘critical minerals’ needed to support a global shift in the energy system that is aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as the growing number of country commitments to cutting carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050. Titled ‘The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions’, the report outlines the metals- and minerals-intensity of technologies such as solar photovoltaic, wind and electric vehicles (EVs) when compared with their fossil fuel-based counterparts – a reality that is transforming the energy sector into a major force in mineral markets.
The mounting pressure by governments and investors on industries globally to reduce emissions, coupled with favourable economics and the need for reliable and cost efficient power, are increasingly nudging mining companies towards considering renewable energy.
TSX- and LSE-listed gold miner Centamin Martin Horgan on May 4 said investors were applying higher standards to environmental performance and were therefore demanding cleaner operations.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has refused an integrated environmental authorisation application by State-owned power utility Eskom to build a new 30-year ash disposal facility at the Kendal power station, in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, on the basis of insufficient mitigation of potentially detrimental environmental impacts. “The Wetland Offset Strategy does not meet wetland offset targets as per the requirements of the second additional information requested and the offset land is not secured (not sterilised from future mining). The alternatives indicated by Eskom, like taking over wastewater treatment works in the catchment and making it compliant, are not feasible for enhancing the ecological category of the catchment,” the DFFE said in a statement on May 4.
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