The South African Local Government Association (Salga) says it does not support the proposed active partnering agreement between State-owned utility Eskom and the Maluti-a-Phofung local municipality, in the Free State, which purports to assist the municipality with operational challenges to secure revenue to enable payment of its bulk electricity account. Under this arrangement, Eskom intends to take over the electricity distribution function, including all related revenue, and out of the hands of the municipality.
Renewable energy company Juwi is in the final stages of commissioning a large solar hybrid project, in Egypt, comprising a 36 MW solar farm and 7.5 MW battery storage system.

The solar farm and battery storage, which is powering Centamin’s Sukari gold mine, have been integrated into an existing diesel power station.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched a five-year Energy Industry Support Programme (EISP), which is being co-funded by the Electricity and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSeta). The EISP was launched at the Evolving Electricity Landscape – Opportunities For Investments conference hosted at the CSIR’s premises, in Pretoria, on November 17.
Eskom announced on Friday afternoon that the Stage 4 loadshedding it implemented in the early hours of the morning will continue until further notice “Changes in the stages of loadshedding will be more erratic due to the absence of the buffer that is normally provided by the diesel generation capacity between generating unit breakdowns,” the power utility said. Since Friday morning a generating unit each at Kendal and Kriel power stations were taken offline for repairs. There have also been delays in returning to service a unit each at Arnot, Grootvlei, Hendrina and Tutuka power stations. There is 4 887MW out on planned maintenance, while another 15 320MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns
Cabinet has approved a “comprehensive package” of policy measures to restrict trade in scrap metal to limit damage to public infrastructure, including the ongoing theft of copper cables, which is said to be costing the economy R46-billion yearly. Details of the measures have not yet been released, but it has been confirmed that they will involve restrictions on the trade of waste scrap and semi-processed metals.
Beer manufacturer Heineken continues its journey to being a sustainable company through its Brew a Better World strategy. The strategy is built on three pillars: the environment, social impact and the responsible consumption of alcohol.