US in ‘race to the top’ to solve energy supply chain vulnerabilities – Fernandez

The US has three international energy priorities, and they also relate to Africa, says US State Department Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, José Fernandez. Speaking at the Inveesting in African Mining Indaba 2022 on Tuesday, Fernandez said these priorities were integral to the US’s support for high standard economic growth and development around the world.
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New infrastructure vulnerable to climate change owing to mismanagement, corruption

New infrastructure was just as vulnerable to climate change as ageing infrastructure, said South African Local Government Association (Salga) senior climate change adviser Slindile Maphumulo on May 10. She explained that, while ageing infrastructure was vulnerable to being damaged or destroyed during extreme weather events, new infrastructure was equally at risk as a result of being built poorly, slowly or not at all owing to poor tender systems, the appointment of incompetent service providers and contractors, black economic empowerment systems, inexperienced engineers and, most of all, rampant corruption.
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Groups welcome expiry of enviro authorisation for proposed coal-fired power station

The Pretoria High Court confirmed, on May 3, that the environmental authorisation for the planned 600 MW KiPower coal-fired power station had expired, meaning the proposed power station cannot be built.

KiPower was intended to be built outside Emalahleni, in Mpumalanga – a region with poor air quality as a result an existing fleet of coal-fired power stations in the vicinity, Sasol’s coal-to-liquids plant in Secunda and the Natref refinery, in Sasolburg, notes environmental groups groundWork and the Centre for Environmental Rights.

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Ford South Africa’s Silverton plant switches on 13 MW of solar

Automaker Ford South Africa’s (Ford SA’s) Silverton assembly plant, in Pretoria, which produces the Ranger pickup for the domestic and export markets, has officially started sourcing 35% of its electricity needs from solar photovoltaic (PV) energy generation. Ford SA has a long-term power purchase agreement in place with SolarAfrica, which installed PV carports for 3 610 vehicles at the Silverton plant.
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Stage 2 load-shedding planned for Tuesday evening – with a risk of worse during the day

Stage 2 load-shedding will again be implemented from 17:00 to 22:00 on Tuesday night, Eskom announced on Tuesday morning. In addition, there is a possibility of higher load-shedding stages should any breakdowns occur during the day on Tuesday.
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South Africa gearing up to negotiate ‘new paradigm’ climate finance deal

South Africa aims to pursue a financing solution that embraces a “different paradigm” with regard to the allocation of risk, as well as return expectations and investment horizons, when negotiating the terms and conditions of a $8.5-billion climate finance offer made in November by several developed countries. A ‘Political Declaration on the Just Energy Transition in South Africa’, which incorporates the financing offer, was signed with the European Union, France, Germany, the UK and the US on the side-lines of the COP26 climate talks, in Glasgow, Scotland.
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Stage 2 load-shedding kicks in on Monday evening, says Eskom

Stage 2 load-shedding will “regretfully” be implemented from 17:00 until 22:00 on Monday evening, Eskom said in a statement.  The previous bout of load-shedding was suspended just two days previously, on Saturday. Earlier, Eskom said the power system had recovered sufficiently to meet the demand during the day. “[But] Eskom would like to caution the public that load-shedding might be required at short notice during the evening peaks should there be further breakdowns in currently available capacity,” the utility said. Eskom had expected to return to service a generation unit each at Kusile and Kendal power stations before Monday evening. But it warned that should either of these units fail to return to service, there would be an “increased probability” of load-shedding at short notice.
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Eskom appoints Mathebula as acting generation exec as Dukashe resigns

State-owned utility Eskom has announced the resignation of generation group executive Phillip Dukashe, whose last day will be on May 31 after having served 26 years in the company. In his resignation letter and discussions with Eskom executives, Dukashe cited the critical need to achieve a balance for the benefit of his health, family and work responsibilities.
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Eskom warns of load-shedding at short notice on Monday evening

The power system will be severely constrained on Monday evening, with the possibility of load-shedding at short notice should there be any unit breakdowns, Eskom warned on Monday. Load-shedding was suspended on Saturday, and the power system has recovered sufficiently to meet the demand during the day.
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Eskom warns of load-shedding at short notice on Monday evening

The power system will be severely constrained on Monday evening, with the possibility of load-shedding at short notice should there be any unit breakdowns, Eskom warned on Monday. load-shedding was suspended on Saturday, and the power system has recovered sufficiently to meet the demand during the day.
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