Another three BW5 wind projects sign agreements and Mantashe says more to follow

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has announced that three more wind projects have signed project agreements under the much-delayed fifth bid window (BW5) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). Mantashe also confirmed that more BW5 projects would be signed in the coming weeks. The three projects, to be built by Red Rocket South Africa, have a combined investment value of R9.3-billion and a combined nameplate of 364 MW.
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South Africa’s transmission infrastructure must urgently be strengthened, extended

It is vital that South Africa’s transmission infrastructure be strengthened and bolstered, as the country pursues new renewable energy technologies and these are added into the mix, and as State-owned utility Eskom undertakes its unbundling. The was a key message from a panel discussion during industry organisation the South African National Energy Association’s (SANEA’s) 2022 conference.
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National Treasury releases details of ‘highly concessional’ AFD, KfW loans worth €600m

The National Treasury has released details of what it describes as “highly concessional” loans with a combined value of €600-million, which are the first to be advanced under the $8.5-billion Just Energy Transition Partnership that South Africa entered into with several developed countries in 2021. The €300-million apiece loans were concluded this week with France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW) with the proceeds flowing directly to the National Treasury.
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NNR highlights the transparency of its recent nuclear emergency exercise in Cape Town

The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) issued a press release on Thursday, highlighting the wide range of stakeholders who observed the full-scale nuclear emergency exercise at the Koeberg nuclear power plant (NPP) on November 4. This exercise was conducted to evaluate the nuclear emergency response systems of both Eskom (the owner and operator of the NPP) and the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Operations Centre and other agencies. “The NNR conducts regulatory nuclear emergency exercises periodically at Necsa Pelindaba and the Koeberg nuclear power station to ensure the effectiveness of the emergency response plans and the ability to ensure the safety of the public and the environment,” explained NNR Emergency Response and Preparedness manager Mothusi Ramerafe. “We use these exercises to review and evaluate the effectiveness of the NNR authorisation holders’ emergency management system as part of our regulatory oversight.”
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Global nuclear agency highlights its role in helping Africa adapt to climate change

With the COP27 United Nations (UN) Climate Conference under way in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday released a report on how nuclear technologies are already being used to build climate change resilience across Africa. Over the past decade, nearly half of all the IAEA’s climate change adaptation projects have been undertaken in Africa. The UN has reported that agricultural productivity in Africa has been greatly reduced over the past 60 years by increased temperatures or droughts. The global body has calculated that these effects have cost the continent economic losses of $70-billion over the past 50 years.
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Mminele outlines Just Energy Transition Investment Plan implementation vision

The International Partners Group (IPG) of France, Germany, the UK, the US and the EU jointly endorsed South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) during the World Leaders Summit at COP27, which took place at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on November 7. Engineering News editor Terence Creamer spoke to Presidential Climate Finance Task Team head Daniel Mminele about the significance of the endorsement and what it means for both the mobilisation of the $8.5-billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) funding package and South Africa’s far larger $99-billion (R1.5-trillion) JET-IP, which is proposed for implementation over the coming five years to 2027.
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Climate projections again point to dangerous 2.7 °C rise by 2100

The research partnership Climate Action Tracker (CAT) on Thursday released its latest projections of how greenhouse gas emissions may dangerously raise the global average temperature. The result is similar to last year’s – a troubling 2.7 °C increase above preindustrial levels if policies don’t improve – but a different point of comparison adds a new dimension to the finding. The key numbers in the updated projections:
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African G20 seat to help push rich nations on climate pledges

The African Union (AU) expects to officially join the Group of 20 (G20) nations this month, providing the continent with another seat at the table with some of the world’s biggest polluters as it confronts the fallout from global warming. The continental group aims to use the opportunity to call on rich nations to honor their promises to tackle climate change, including providing developing countries with $100-billion in financing each year, said Macky Sall, the President of Senegal who holds the AU’s rotating chairmanship. G20 nations are responsible for 80% of global emissions, while Africa accounts for less than 4%.
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