Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) has outlined a set of ten interventions that it believes could unlock much-needed investment into new generation and storage capacity over the coming two years and should be included as part of President Cyril Ramaphosa comprehensive plan for tackling load-shedding, which is expected to be unveiled soon. The BUSA intervention envisages the introduction of 15 GW of additional generation capacity, together with 4 GW of battery storage, over a 24-month period.
Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) has outlined a set of ten interventions that it believes could unlock much-needed investment into new generation and storage capacity over the coming two years and should be included as part of President Cyril Ramaphosa comprehensive plan for tackling load-shedding, which is expected to be unveiled soon. The BUSA intervention envisages the introduction of 15 GW of additional generation capacity, together with 4 GW of battery storage, over a 24-month period.
Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) director-general Jacob Mbele has confirmed that the Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 (IRP 2019) will continue to be implemented while it is reviewed, consulted, and updated – a process that is set to continue well into 2023. Speaking during a dialogue on the energy transition hosted by the Presidential Climate Commission, Mbele argued that the IRP 2019, which is widely accepted to include assumptions that are out of date, was “not irrelevant” and that its implementation would thus proceed.
The Climate Justice Coalition – a coalition of South African trade unions and grassroots, community-based and nonprofit organisations – will march to the office of the Presidency on Nelson Mandela Day (July 18) to hand over a petition demanding the energy crisis be dealt with.

The petition calls on President Cyril Ramaphosa to implement an emergency renewable energy plan to end load-shedding, to replace Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and otherwise fix the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).

A new study by analyst S&P Global has found that meeting the net zero emissions target by 2050 could be “short-circuited and remain out of reach” unless significant new copper supply comes online in a timely way.

The study projects global copper demand to nearly double over the next decade, from 25-million metric tons today to about 50-million metric tons by 2035 in order to deploy the technologies critical to achieving net-zero by 2050 goals.

Industrial technical standards and best practices expert and nonprofit organisation CLASP energy efficiency lighting expert Michael Scholand is calling on the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) to promulgate compulsory specification VC9109, which sets out energy efficiency standards for general service lamps (GSL) typically used in households and which would deliver significant electricity and emissions savings, as well as financial benefit to consumers. The compulsory specification was published in the Government Gazette in March 2021 for public comment, but has not been implemented.