BioTherm connects another wind farm to national grid

Pan-African renewable energy project developer BioTherm Energy’s 120 MW Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility, in the Eastern Cape, has become the latest wind farm to be connected to the national grid. “We are pleased to announce the successful commissioning of all 48 wind turbine generators as the year draws to an end and we prepare to have our portfolio in operation in the next quarter,” says BioTherm CEO Robert Skjodt.
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Appetite for renewables remains strong, despite economic uncertainties

Despite ongoing economic uncertainties globally, investor appetite for renewables remains strong, with optioned renewable capacity increasing by 15% year-on-year in the nine months from January through to October 2020, compared with the same period the previous year. This sets a new record, juwi Renewables global hybrid director David Manning said during a conference on May 4.
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Solar energy to power Centamin’s Sukari mine into the future, juwi Renewables

Gold miner Centamin has awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for its 36 MW solar farm and 7.5 MW battery-energy storage system at the Sukari gold mine, in Egypt, to renewable energy specialist juwi Renewables and systems integrator company Giza Systems. juwi has been contracted to design, supply and integrate the Sukari solar and battery plant into the current diesel power plant, while Giza has been contracted to install the Sukari solar plant.
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French financier pledges support for Eskom’s ‘just energy transition’ strategy

South Africa’s electricity utility Eskom signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with development financier Agence Française de Développement (AFD) on Monday that includes a specific objective of creating a framework for cooperation and collaboration on Eskom’s evolving ‘just energy transition’ strategy. The State-owned company has established a Just Energy Transition Office to oversee the repowering and repurposing of those coal power stations in its fleet that will be decommissioned in the coming few years, with some 10 GW of coal-fired capacity scheduled to be shut by 2030.
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Raising distributed generator licence-exemption cap to 10 MW ‘does not go far enough’

Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) says a proposed amendment to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act, which would raise the licence exemption threshold for private distributed-generation plants from 1 MW to 10 MW, “does not go far enough”. Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe released the proposed amendment in a Gazette notice on April 23 and called on interested persons and organisations to submit written comments to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy within 30 days.
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Climate commission to build on existing body of work as it finalises South Africa’s ‘just …

The Presidential Climate Change Coordinating Commission (PCCCC), which held its second meeting on Friday, intends building on the work already done by the National Planning Commission (NPC) as it seeks to finalise a national ‘just transition framework’ for South Africa’s shift to a climate resilient society and economy. Deputy chairperson Valli Moosa stressed that the commission had no intention of “reinventing the wheel” and would, thus, also incorporate the extensive research and work completed on the just transition by labour, business and civil society groupings, as well as the research community.
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EIUG welcomes zinc miner as a member

Nonprofit association the Energy Intensive User Group (EIUG) on April 30 said its new member Namibian and South African zinc mining company Black Mountain Mining (BMM) will strengthen the association and diversify its portfolio through the addition of the zinc industry. The EIUG is committed to working with government, power utilities and other stakeholders to ensure South Africa has an energy supply industry that is financially viable, technically healthy and well managed. The membership will enable BMM to double up its mining production and potentially anchor beneficiation of zinc metal in South Africa, which will, in turn, make South Africa a net exporter of zinc, the association noted.
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South Africa’s energy transition

Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about more signs that the energy transition is starting to have a real impact in South Africa with Engen’s planned refinery closure, moves by the eThekwini municipality to buy electricity from independent power producers and a new report on job creation potential in the solar power industry.
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Govt has eight weeks to decide on powership project after it clears environmental hurdle

Karpowership, the company bidding to moor five powerships in South African harbours for 20 years, cleared another hurdle when its environmental assessors found that the projects at the ports of Saldanha Bay, Richards Bay and Ngqura could go ahead. Balito-based Triplo4, which carried out the assessments on behalf of Karpowership, submitted the final environmental impact assessments for the three ports earlier in the week, following a period of public comment. It found that the projects should go ahead, subject to a number of mitigations measures.
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Eskom to conduct wage talks next week

State-owned power utility Eskom will start regular wage discussions with the company’s recognised labour representative unions on May 4. It warns that these discussions may be “unpredictable” and that it may result in rising tensions.
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