44 MW solar plant gets refinanced by shareholders

The Concentrator Photovoltaics Power Plant No.1 (CPV1), a 44 MW concentrated solar photovoltaic plant in the Western Cape, has successfully been refinanced by its shareholders Pele Green Energy (PGE), the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and Touwsrivier Solar Community Trust, which represents the local community of Touwsrivier. The refinancing involved the delisting of a JSE-listed bond and converting the debt into a limited recourse project finance instrument.
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South Africa set to take over part of Eskom’s R396bn debt

South Africa’s Treasury is finalising a plan to take over a portion of Eskom Holdings’ R396-billion debt as part of a process to place the struggling electricity company on a sustainable footing, a top official said. The “broad brush strokes” of the debt transfer will be announced in the mid-term budget scheduled for October, Duncan Pieterse, head of assets and liability management at the National Treasury, said in an interview Wednesday. The authorities will seek cabinet and parliament’s approval for the plan after determining the amount, along with the conditions the utility will need to meet before and following such a transaction.
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ArcelorMittal to seek access to rail network amid a collapse in Transnet service

ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has confirmed that it will seek to secure third-party access to Transnet’s rail network as part of efforts to stabilise the logistics involved in supplying key raw materials, such as iron-ore, having experienced an intense period of rail disruption during the first half of 2022, which cost it some R650-million in lost sales. CEO Kobus Verster reports it has told Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) of its intention to gain access to the rail network, despite the fact that the utility has not yet made a suitable general-freight slot available to AMSA, resulting in a legal lacuna.
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Eskom, Netherlands Embassy to collaborate further on repurposing of the Grootvlei power station site

Power utility Eskom and the Netherlands Embassy have signed a letter of intent to guide the next phase of collaboration between the two parties. In the next phase of the collaboration, Eskom and the Netherlands Embassy, supported by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, intend to work along two tracks – prefeasibility for a climate-smart, labour-intensive agricultural/horticulture development on the Grootvlei power station site and an integrated and sustainable approach for repurposing of the Grootvlei power station site.
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As silent rooftop revolution gathers pace, attention turns to fair tariff structure

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that a feed-in tariff is to be created to incentivise businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar is likely to further stimulate the so-called ‘silent revolution’ that is already under way as South Africans seek to navigate their way through an intensifying load-shedding crisis. The President confirmed that the feed-in tariff would incentivise homes and businesses to sell surplus power to Eskom.
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