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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SAWEA outlines procurement process complexities delaying projects

Industry association the South African Wind Energy Association’s (SAWEA’s) Working Group for Policy and Markets has provided insights into announcements made last month delaying two renewable energy procurement rounds. SAWEA says the sector, in general, views the interrupted procurement as “unfortunate”, citing that this delays the achievement of investment, job creation and security of electricity supply that South Africa needs.
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Nersa registers 16 more distributed projects to add 211 MW

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has approved the registration of a further 16 distributed generation projects with a combined capacity of 211 MW and a collective investment value of R3.65-bilion. The approvals were made during a regulator executive committee meeting on June 6, at which full-time regulator member for electricity regulation Nhlanhla Gumede stated that the 100 MW reform “is now truly in play”.
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Rolls-Royce business in Germany now drawing power from new solar energy complex

The Germany-based Power Systems business of UK-domiciled major international power and propulsion systems and technology group Rolls-Royce has taken another step towards achieving net-zero carbon operations, with the opening of a new solar power complex, or park, in southern Germany. The solar park, named Berghof, is located at Tengen, in the German State of Baden-Württemberg. The new solar power complex has a capacity of 3.7 MWp and will supply Rolls-Royce Power Systems with some 4 000 000 kW/h of electricity a year. This will cut 1 300 t of carbon dioxide emissions annually, compared with the conventionally-generated electricity available in Germany. The solar park has a design life of at least 25 years.
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Three risk mitigation projects finally advancing

Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the latest developments in the Risk Mitigation energy procurement programme, what the prospects are for all the energy procurement projects that are under way, efforts to streamline processes for both utility and embedded generation projects and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe’s announcement that the Integrated Resource Plan 2019 will be updated.
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Tech company commissioned to run upgrades in UAE

Global technology company ABB has installed ABB Ability System 800xA, called the market-leading distributed control system (DCS) automation platform, to upgrade three grinding units at Star Super Cement in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE),
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Motor efficiency critical for sustainability

In pursuit of global targets to reduce climate change, many countries have enforced the use of various efficiency classes of motors, but Africa, including South Africa, does not have something similar in place. Considering that between 40% and 50% of power consumed on an electricity grid can be attributed to the use of electric motors, manufacturer Zest WEG sales manager for electric motors Francois Labuschagne states that “any improvement in motor efficiency would greatly reduce the total electricity load”.
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Renergen says gas project can catalyse Free State manufacturing revival

Emerging integrated energy producer Renergen is confident that its Virginia gas project, in the Free State, will become a catalyst for “more than just gas” in South Africa, with CEO Stefano Marani expressing optimism about the project’s positive impact on the province as it develops into a manufacturing hub. The aim of the project, which comprises exploration and production rights over 187 000 ha of gasfields, is to produce all of South Africa’s helium requirements and export the balance of production, while also producing the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) that will be locally available for commercial consumption.
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