The Impact Catalyst launches in Mpumalanga

Large-scale, socioeconomic development initiative driver The Impact Catalyst was launched in Mpumalanga on November 21 to promote initiatives designed to leverage collaboration to deliver a collective, cross-sectoral impact.

The Impact Catalyst – founded by Anglo American, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Exxaro and World Vision South Africa – has already been launched in Limpopo and the Northern Cape.

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India’s Jindal wins bid to build Botswana’s 300 MW coal power plant

Botswana has picked India’s Jindal Steel & Power Ltd as the preferred bidder in a tender to build a 300 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant, a notice from its energy ministry showed on Monday. It is the only fossil fuel-based power plant the Southern African country plans to procure in the next 20 years.
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Loadshedding downgraded again, for now

Stage 4 loadshedding (instead of Stage 5) will be implemented continuously until 05:00 on Tuesday morning, Eskom said on Monday afternoon. Thereafter Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented daily at 05:00 – 16:00.
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Extreme load shedding ahead as Eskom diesel budget runs dry

Eskom said on Sunday that it has run out of cash to buy diesel and does not plan to order any more until 1April 1, 2023.  The consequence of this will be extreme levels of loadshedding not yet experienced in South Africa. 
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Salga advises Maluti-a-Phofung municipality against signing active partnering agreement with Eskom

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.
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Juwi commissions solar hybrid project at Sukari gold mine

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.

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CSIR launches Energy Industry Support Programme for small businesses

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.
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Stage 4 to continue until further notice, but beware of ‘erratic’ loadshedding changes

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
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Cabinet approves measures to restrict scrap exports, but details yet to be released

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.
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Beer manufacturer aims to Brew a Better World

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.
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