South Africa’s State power utility Eskom favours burning more domestically sourced gas as it transitions away from coal, its Chief Executive Officer Andre de Ruyter said. With the structure of the nation’s demand changing and more renewable technology being added to the grid, additional storage in the form of batteries will be needed along with power that can be dispatched on demand, De Ruyter told a conference in Cape Town on Friday. “Gas is the solution to that problem,” he said. Eskom has “a strong preference” for tapping local gas supplies, rather than exposing itself to the supply, price volatility and foreign currency fluctuation risks associated with imports, he said. Eskom, which has amassed R413-billion of debt and is running at a loss, is only interested in buying the gas, and doesn’t envision investing in pipelines or field development.
South Africa will require R500-billion in private investment to end power cuts that are stalling economic growth by the start of 2025, said Peter Attard Montalto, Intellidex’s head of capital markets research. The money is needed to construct 15 gigawatts of generation capacity and five gigawatts of battery storage, he said, adding that the requirement is unlikely to be met within such a tight time-frame. “Ending load-shedding by end-2024 is possible, but a stretch,” Montalto said in a response to questions. It would require that all efforts to end the crisis and introduce energy reforms “would have to go like clockwork,” he said. The country will need to invest an additional R175-billion in expanding its power grid over the next decade, Montalto said.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has moved to clarify a statement made by Minister Gwede Mantashe that a Bid Window Five (BW5) project under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) had reached financial close earlier this week. Mantashe made the statement in response to a question posed during a briefing held to provide an update on the implementation of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, which includes energy security as a priority intervention.
South African power utility Eskom expects a final decision on a new $476 million World Bank loan to repurpose its Komati coal-fired power plant into a renewable station before November’s COP27 climate summit, CE Andre de Ruyter said on Friday. The money will be used for three packages, which includes decommissioning certain parts of the 1 000 MW Komati power plant that is currently only using one unit to despatch 125 MW of power when needed, as Eskom battles its worst period of power cuts since it started more than a decade ago.
In continuing efforts to digitize its customers, energy management and automation specialist Schneider Electric’s connected products can communicate well with each other on its digital platforms, as well as those of third parties, says Schneider Electric global marketing director Quintin McCutcheon. He speaks to Creamer Media at Electra Mining.
South African state power utility Eskom said it was extending rotational power cuts until Monday due to plant breakdowns causing a persistent shortage of generation capacity. Eskom said it would implement “Stage 4” power cuts until 05:00 local time (0300 GMT) on Sunday, and thereafter “Stage 3” until 05:00 on Monday.
State-owned power utility Eskom is developing a crowdsourcing digital platform to allow it to supplement its existing skills base to help address its operational challenges. It has invited organisations and individuals, including experienced engineers and technical experts, to participate. The platform will act as a skills database for Eskom to acquire additional expertise and to resolve its urgent business needs.
A proposal by wealthy nations to mobilise $8.5-billion for South Africa to help reduce its dependence on coal has proved more complex than anticipated, which has stalled its implementation. The money was offered to South Africa at United Nations climate talks in Glasgow last year under a deal that was seen as a possible blueprint for helping other coal-reliant developing countries transition to using cleaner energy. Details of the types of financing that will be made available and the terms and conditions attached to it are still being hashed out, along with South Africa’s investment plans, said Barbara Creecy, the nation’s environment minister.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe says the government is looking at reopening bid window 5 of the renewable energy independent power producer programme (REIPPP) in light that most projects have failed to reach financial close. Bid window 5 is a critical part of the plan to end SA’s power shortage. The bidding closed in 2021, and it aimed to add 2 583 MW to the grid within the next two years. But, global events – such as the war in Ukraine and increased demand for renewable energy and storage components – have radically altered the input costs on which the bidders based their prices.
South Africa’s government is bracing for more frequent and longer electricity outages as the state-owned power utility’s aged and poorly maintained plants continue to deteriorate. The nation has been subjected to rolling blackouts, known locally as loadshedding, since 2008, with 4 000 MW of capacity currently being cut from the grid to ensure it doesn’t collapse. The ongoing energy shortages were a major contributor to the economy’s 0.7% contraction in the second quarter.
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