No final decision yet for Eskom’s Thyspunt licence application, says NNR

A final decision into Eskom’s nuclear installation site licence (NISL) for its proposed Thyspunt nuclear power station cannot be made, owing to “information gaps and outdated data” relating to the application under consideration by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR).

Eskom submitted the application for the site in Kouga local municipality in the Eastern Cape, on March 10, 2016.

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New coal ‘inconsistent’ with spirit of $8.5bn climate partnership, US Treasury warns

Any public steps by South Africa that were suggestive of new coal having a place in the country’s future energy mix would be inconsistent with the intentions of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P) signed at COP26 in November, US Treasury climate counselor John Morton has cautioned. The partnership, which was also signed by France, Germany, the UK and the European Union (EU), includes an offer of $8.5-billion in climate finance to support South Africa’s transition from coal and negotiations are currently under way to convert the offer into an investment plan ahead of COP27, scheduled for Egypt in November.
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Eskom warns power system is ‘very constrained’, risk of load-shedding in coming weeks

Eskom warned on Tuesday afternoon of a “very constrained” power system and said it might have to implement load-shedding at short notice.  “Should there be any significant breakdowns, load-shedding may be required at short notice, most likely during the evening peak of 17:00 and 22:00,” the utility said in a statement.
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2021 confirmed as most intensive load-shedding year yet as Eskom’s EAF continues to fall

The Council for Scientific and industrial Research (CSIR) has confirmed that 2021 surpassed 2020 as South Africa’s most intensive load-shedding year to date, as the performance of Eskom’s coal fleet continued to deteriorate. Load-shedding occurred for 1 169 hours, or 13% of the year, with an upper limit of 2 521 GWh, representing a 40% increase compared with the 2020 load-shedding upper limit of 1 798 GWh.
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French SMR design to trial joint European regulatory review

French State-owned electricity utility and nuclear group EDF has put its Nuward small modular reactor (SMR) forward as a test case of joint European regulatory review, the company has announced. The Nuward project was launched in September 2019 and is currently in the conceptual design stage. The Nuward will be subject to a joint regulatory review by the nuclear safety agencies of three European countries. These are France’s Nuclear Safety Authority (abbreviated to ASN in French), the Czech (Republic) State Office for Nuclear Safety (Czech abbreviation SÚJB) and Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK).
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Actis set to complete stake sale of $1.8bn Lekela by July

Buyout firm Actis is poised to sell its stake in Lekela Power, an Africa-focused renewable energy firm, as early as July, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The private equity company has entered into exclusive talks with Infinity Power, a joint venture between Masdar and Egypt’s Infinity Energy, to buy the 60% stake, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is not public. Lekela, which has renewable energy power projects in South Africa, Egypt, Senegal and Ghana, is valued at about $1.8-billion, according to one of the people.
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Kenyan power lines re-routed to protect flamingos and pelicans

Kenya’s State-run electricity distribution company is re-configuring power lines to prevent the electrocution of birds such as flamingos, pelicans and cranes. Kenya Power and Lighting Co has re-routed a 33 kV power line outside Lake Nakuru National Park to prevent flamingos and pelicans from flying into it, the company said in an statement Monday. Work is ongoing to relocate a 132 kV power line near the park that’s about 160 km north west of the capital, Nairobi, in the Great Rift Valley, to provide enough clearance for the birds as they take off or land.
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