Mining industry progressing with energy transition to zero-emissions mines

Energy and mining industry experts this week detailed how the mining industry is grappling with the technical challenges of transitioning existing, and preparing new, operations to become more efficient and integrating renewable energy sources to, eventually, facilitate net-zero emissions from the mining and production of mineral resources. The solutions highlighted during the Energy and Mining Summit on February 22 included the use of renewable energy sources, and the associated challenges and opportunities; battery and heat energy storage; liquefied natural gas; coal-bed methane; and a focus on energy efficiency.
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Scatec calls for comprehensive update on Eskom restructuring in Godongwana’s Budget speech

Independent power producer Scatec is calling on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to provide a comprehensive update on the restructuring of power utility Eskom during hits maiden Budget speech this afternoon. Scatec sub-Saharan Africa GM Jan Fourie says the market needs an update on the utility’s restructuring, as concerns about grid availability, transmission, energy procurement and regulation are critical to the structuring and development of public and private sector companies in the future.
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Eskom considers selling assets as bailout prospects fade

Eskom Holdings, South Africa’s indebted power utility, is considering selling distribution assets as prospects of the government taking over about half of its R392-billion obligations dim, people with knowledge of the matter said. State-owned Eskom, which supplies almost all of South Africa’s power, has said that it needs to cut its borrowings to about 200 billion rand to be sustainable, and the idea of the government taking a chunk of the debt has been discussed for several years.
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Low-carbon hydrogen power on the rise

Market research and analysis firm Fitch Solutions is expecting to see an increase in the development of low-carbon hydrogen production technologies and projects over the rest of the year. Speaking at a webinar on February 22, Fitch Solutions senior power and renewables analyst Thomas van Lanschot said sustained growth in hydrogen production capacity would drive new hydrogen-fuelled electricity generation projects coming into the pipeline.
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Police remove 2 000 kg of electrical cables from Gauteng informal settlement

City Power disconnected electrical cables, worth R5-million, which had been used for illegal electricity connection in Gauteng. City Power’s Revenue Protection Unit conducted an operation to cut off illegal electrical connections at informal settlements areas surrounding Rabie Ridge-Kanana Extension 4.
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African miners aggressively pursuing decarbonisation

Mining companies are aggressively pursuing decarbonisation at their operations, with a myriad of different strategies, and varying timelines across the spectrum of miners, but with the same end-goal of reducing carbon emissions and ultimately achieving net-zero operations. This was indicated by speakers during the Energy and Mines Africa Virtual Summit on February 22.
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Metair expects to report more than 100% increase in full-year earnings

JSE-listed energy storage solutions provider Metair expects to report headline earnings per share (HEPS) of between 350c and 360c for the financial year ended December 31. That compares with the HEPS of 148c reported for 2020.
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Niger, Emerging Energy Corp sign green hydrogen development agreement

The Republic of Niger signed an agreement with German energy solution provider Emerging Energy Corporation (EEC) to work together to explore and develop commercial green hydrogen projects in Niger. “Both parties will find opportunities to enable demand for the product and prepare Niger to become a hub for green hydrogen production in the region.
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AfDB commits $164m for decentralised renewable energy in six countries

Development finance institution the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved the Leveraging Energy Access Finance (LEAF) framework, under which it will commit up to $164-million to promote decentralised renewable energy in six African countries. “The $800-million programme will help spur commercial and local currency investments to scale up the activities of decentralised renewable energy companies in Ghana, Guinea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Tunisia.
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World atomic body reviewing plan to discharge treated Fukushima water into the sea  

A task force of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other international experts visited Japan last week to gather information and collect water samples, in order to be able to draw up an independent review of Japan’s plan to discharge into the sea treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP). This NPP was wrecked by a tsunami, triggered by a huge (magnitude 9.0) undersea earthquake, in 2011. While the plant’s six reactors all automatically shut down when their …
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