Archive for month: October, 2022

The West African country of Ghana is set to be the first beneficiary of a new joint US-Japan civil nuclear cooperation agreement, established last week, named ‘Winning an Edge Through Cooperation in Advanced Nuclear’ (WECAN). Aimed at helping countries meet both their energy security and climate change mitigation goals, the agreement was signed at a Ministerial meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the US capital of Washington DC. “The [IAEA] considers nuclear energy necessary to achieve long-term climate goals, including net-zero emissions by 2050,” pointed out the US State Department in its press release. “WECAN reaffirms commitments by Japan and the United States to energy innovation, energy security, and global clean energy transition in a smart, cost-effective, and secure way by advancing the latest technology and commercial leadership in emerging technologies that provide firm, reliable electricity and industrial heat.”

Eskom has announced that the final unit at the Komati power station in Mpumalanga was shut at midday October 31, officially signalling the end of the station’s operating life as a coal-fired generator and the site’s transition to a renewables, storage, manufacturing and training hub – one that could serve as a global reference as several countries consider ways to transition away from fossil fuels while supporting the livelihoods of affected workers and communities. Komati has been identified as the flagship site for Eskom’s so-called ‘Just Energy Transition (JET) Strategy’, which includes various repowering and repurposing initiatives, including the development of 150 MW of solar photovoltaic, 70 MW of wind and 150 MW battery storage at the retired station.

After government’s commitment to pay billions to settle Sanral’s e-toll debt, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi also wants Soweto’s debt to Eskom – nearly R5-billion – scrapped.  “Minister [Enoch] Godongwana, we truly appreciate how you respect negotiations. Can we safely assume that the Soweto Eskom electricity debt and that of other townships is also scrapped as per our intensive lobby?” Lesufi tweeted on Friday.

In light of ongoing grid constraints, some wind industry practitioners are warning that only about 2 GW of the 3.2 GW wind allocation in Bid Window Six (BW6) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) is likely to be taken up, given that lower-priced solar photovoltaic projects could absorb a portion of the remaining available network in the key wind provinces of the Eastern and Western Cape. There are also warnings that South Africa’s logistics and …

The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill is expected to realise significant local embedded generation capacity growth by removing the cap on the licensing threshold, but the current version of South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is a limiting factor. The amendment of Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA) that lifted the licensing threshold from 1 MW to 100 MW had an enormous impact on the local electricity supply industry when it came into effect in August last year, says law firm Webber Wentzel partner Jason van der Poel.