A key funder of South Africa’s renewable energy drive is backing natural gas as the fuel needed to help the country bridge the transition from coal power generation to the use of wind and solar. Old Mutual Ltd.’s African Infrastructure Investment Managers will consider funding companies that compete for the right to produce 3,000 megawatts of electricity from gas in an upcoming bid round planned by the government, said Vuyo Ntoi, co-managing director of the $2-billion fund.
A project to quickly ease South Africa’s electricity supply constraints by using floating powerships has come under fire by energy analysts, who have questioned why agreements will lock SA into using the ships until 2042. Earlier this month Minister of Energy Gwede Mantashe announced the names of the eight preferred bidders for SA’s “Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme” – an initiative to fast-track new power production to cut down on load shedding and save on diesel costs.
Eskom Holdings has taken steps to protect its operations from disruptions after a contractual dispute with Oracle Corp.’s South African unit put its technical support services at risk. The state power utility confirmed on Monday that it’s involved in the disagreement in which Oracle initially claimed Eskom underpaid it by about R7.3-billion ($500 million). While the amount was later reduced between the parties, Oracle rejected Eskom’s settlement offer of 166 million rand and threatened to terminate its services, the power utility said in an emailed statement.
The latest meeting between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam may be the last chance to re-launch talks before it is filled for the second year in a row, Egypt said in a statement on Sunday. The meeting concludes on Monday in Kinshasa. Previous attempts at reaching agreement over the giant dam that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile have ended in deadlock.
City Power has appointed Mongezi Ntsokolo as its new CEO with effect from April 1. Ntsokolo has almost 30 years’ experience in the electricity industry, having served in different managerial roles at State power utility Eskom, including as group executive for generation, transmission, distribution and human resources.
Dual-listed natural gas and helium producer Renergen has completed its fifth major milestone at its Virgina gas project, in the Free State, as the company works towards the start of production in 2021. The milestone includes the shipment of various equipment from China to South Africa.
The release of the request for proposal (RFP) documentation for Bid Window 5 (BW 5) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) has been delayed, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has confirmed. The department reports that the delay is the result of a need to align certain parts of the RFP documents with feedback from National Treasury on the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act exemption application.
South African energy start-up Sun Exchange raised $1.4-million in a crowd sale of solar cells of a 1.9 MW solar and battery storage facility at Zimbabwe’s Nhimbe Fresh farm, the firm said on Wednesday.
Investors were invited to purchase individual solar cells in the project. In exchange, they will earn a rental income in cryptocurrency from the electricity generated.
Sun Exchange said the crowd sale attracted more than 1 700 individuals buyers.
The board at State-owned electricity utility Eskom confirmed on Thursday that Advocate Ishmael Semenya SC had accepted its request to conduct an independent inquiry into claims of racism and abuse of power levelled against CEO André de Ruyter by suspended chief procurement officer Solly Tshitangano. Tshitangano made his allegations in writing to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts, which subsequently indicated that it intended investigating the matter.
Solar energy marketplace Sun Exchange has completed a $1.4-million crowdsale for a 510 kW solar and 1 MWh battery storage project to power the packhouse and cold store facilities of Zimbabwean agriculture company Nhimbe Fresh. The fresh produce grower and exporter will save about $2-million on its solar installation and reduce overall energy costs by about 60%. As the solar power is replacing coal and diesel energy sources, its carbon emissions will be reduced by more than one-million kilograms a year, Sun Exchange said in a March 31 statement.
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