State-owned power utility Eskom said its efforts to root out corruption and fraud gained a significant boost when the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes Court this week sentenced a former Eskom employee and a supplier to an effective 20 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty on 53 counts of fraud and theft that cost Eskom R35-million. Former Eskom financial controller Mosai Barnard Moraka and Eskom service provider Victor Vilosi Tshabalala stole the money through a corrupt scam between January 2016 and September 2018 by creating fictitious invoices and payment for services not rendered by Meagra Transportation, a company owned by Tshabalala.
A new report on the role of gas in South Africa’s electricity system argues that it would be a “costly mistake” to pursue large gas-to-power investments in light of a shrinking role for gas in the power sector and improving prospects for greener alternatives. Published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the report suggests that a pause be placed on any gas-to-power development until at least 2030. This, given its analysis showing that gas supply to the electricity industry will be unnecessary until 2035, by which date the penetration of variable renewable energy should be such that system balancing would be required.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has confirmed the “postponement” of the signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs) for projects selected as part of the controversial Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP). A signing ceremony was expected to take place in Pretoria on Thursday March 31; the already delayed deadline for the projects to reach financial close.
The Just Transition Partnership signed between South Africa and several developed countries in late 2021 has been held up as an example of the type of ‘climate and development partnership’ that the German government plans to pursue both bilaterally and multilaterally as part of a development policy that includes climate action as a core pillar. In an address to the 2022 edition of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said such partnerships were a “new key element” that Germany was pursuing to support developing countries in their transitions toward climate neutrality and resilience.
The Ekurhuleni Municipality has approved the connection of a large solar photovoltaic (PV) plant and battery system at food and beverage company PepsiCo Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA’s) large distribution centre, near Kempton Park. The new PV and lithium-ion battery system will form one of South Africa’s largest microgrids, comprising a 1.8 MW solar PV facility alongside a 2.9 MWh battery, while being grid-connected to stabilise the local grid.
Investment by the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) in rail infrastructure would create 76 000 jobs, while prioritising environment-friendly construction in city projects would create 143 000 green jobs by 2030, CoJ Environment and Infrastructure Services mayoral committee member Michael Sun has said, citing the results of research conducted by cities climate change network C40 Cities. The city’s multi-party government has committed to spurring a just economic transition within the city’s economy and to ensure all residents at risk of losing a job in non-green industries are given opportunities to work in other sectors essential to a sustainable economy and society.
Although coal miner Exxaro acknowledges its contribution toward climate change, it also stresses that coal from already-established coal mines need to be capitalised upon to form the foundation of a new and future-sustainable business.
As Western Europe accelerates a structural transition away from Russian energy dependence, Africa will play a salient role in filling this void, says Oxford Economics Africa (OEA). During a webinar on March 29, the research company unpacked how a more pressing shift towards renewable energy and a reduction on Russian hydrocarbon dependence will increase demand for African renewable and non-renewable resources.
The Rand West City municipality has given non-compliant residents some leeway after Eskom warned about blackouts. The municipality owes Eskom R732-million, which has been accumulated over the past 12 years. The mayor, Gladys Khoza, said the municipality was failing to collect revenue in townships.
The renewable energy transition “is the only true path to energy security”, United Nations secretary-general António Guterres has asserted, adding that the current energy crisis, precipitated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, underlined the need to accelerate rather than slow the transition. In a recorded address to the 2022 edition of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD), Guterres warned that the world was not on track to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by mid-century, or limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
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