Transitioning Mpumalanga’s coal-heavy economy to higher levels of agricultural output could help create new businesses and jobs and improve the long-term economic resilience of the province as mines close and Eskom begins decommissioning power stations in line with the Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 (IRP 2019). Research conducted by Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) warns, however, that current and future mining activity could sterilise arable land in the province and that action should, thus, be taken to safeguard agricultural land as part of the country’s planning for a just transition from coal to renewables.
Africa has considerable potential to generate solar and wind energy at a low cost, as it hosts many areas of high solar irradiation and good wind speeds. There is also potential to transport that energy to other areas where there is high demand for green energy to produce hydrogen, Delft University of Technology Professor Dr Ad van Wijk has said.
Sudan’s cabinet has backed an initiative for the United Arab Emirates to mediate in a dispute over Sudan’s border with Ethiopia, and over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the Sudanese information minister said on Tuesday. Tensions surrounding the control of farmland in al-Fashqa, on the border, have escalated in recent months, while talks over the operation of the GERD, which will affect water volume downstream on the Nile in Sudan and Egypt, are deadlocked.
South Africa’s National Treasury is considering whether it would be better to move a chunk of Eskom Holdings’ R464-billion of debt into a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) or have the State take over responsibility for it directly, people familiar with the situation said. While banks have led discussions for the last few weeks over the creation of a so-called SPV that would take over at least R100-billion of Eskom’s debt, and possibly much more, that debt would almost certainly have to be guaranteed by the government, the three people said, asking not to be identified because an announcement hasn’t been made.
The fact that a hybrid generation project – combining solar photovoltaic (PV), a battery energy storage system (BESS) and a small portion of gas – emerged with the lowest evaluation price in the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) has been described as “remarkable” in light of the scheme’s design. Projects selected for a 20-year power purchase agreement under the RMIPPPP must be able to operate between 5:00 and 21:30, have load-following ability and be connected to the grid before August 2022.
The tender for the construction of the largest of three bridges that will span the Polihali reservoir and that will be built as part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase 2 – the Senqu River bridge – was released on March 4.
The bridge will be the first extradosed bridge, which combines pre-stressed box girder and cable-stayed elements in an efficient design, in Lesotho.
The bridge will be 825 m long and almost 100 m high. Work on the bridge design started in 2018, led by Zutari, formerly Aurecon Lesotho. Zutari also designed the Mabunyaneng and Khubelu bridges and will supervise the construction of the three bridges.
Three Europe-based companies have joined renewable energy industry organisation Renewable Energy Solutions for Africa Foundation (RES4Africa). The companies are renewable energy company EDP Renewables; energy management and automation company Schneider Electric; and wind energy company Vestas
Solar industry organisation the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) says it welcomes the inclusion of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects among preferred bidders for the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) announced by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe on March 18. “With technological advancement, the reduced costs, the scalability and rapid build times of projects, solar PV should remain a key technology choice in meeting the country’s capacity requirements,” says SAPVIA COO Niveshen Govender on March 19.
Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier has welcomed the announcement by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, on March 18, of the preferred bidders for the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme and the release of the request for proposals for Bid Window 5 (BW 5) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). Maynier also noted the announcement that the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy is reviewing the licensing threshold for increased embedded self-generation.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) intends convening a virtual bidders conference in April to provide information on the qualifying criteria and bid submission expectations for the fifth bid window (BW5) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). The department formally launched the request for proposals (RFP) for BW5 after midnight on March 19, ending a near seven year interruption in the procurement of new wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity.
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