South Africa-based renewable-energy solutions company Solareff has designed and installed an integrated solar photovoltaic (PV), diesel generator and battery energy storage system (BESS), with an engineered energy management system (EMS), for a retail developer on the West Rand.
Last month, lighting solution manufacturer Beka Schréder began the first SOLARPOLE project roll-out in the country.
Improving technologies, which reduce deployment costs, as well as lower tariffs and thousands of hours of sunshine every year, along with the continued challenges of State-owned power utility Eskom’s load-shedding, will likely drive more citizens and businesses to adopt solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to meet their electricity consumptions needs. Despite the prevalence of some barriers, including municipal capacity constraints, processes, policies and regulations and illicit operators, as well as the upfront costs needed to deploy solar-based power systems, that hamper the acceleration of the sectors’ growth, adoption of solar PV technology is on the rise.
State-owned electricity producer Eskom sought to demonstrate the economic prudency of running the diesel-fuelled open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) harder to mitigate load-shedding during the fourth day of National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) public hearings into its latest allowable revenue application. Eskom is seeking allowable revenue of R293.4-billion for 2022/23, which would result in a 20.5% tariff hike from April 1 if granted.
The transformation and decarbonisation of the South African energy system is gathering momentum; however, a regional plan is required for the coal mining region of Mpumalanga, to prevent considerable economic and socioeconomic losses and ensure a just transition, and a push for renewable energy in the province has the potential to achieve that transition. This is according to the South Africa Benefits study report: “From coal to renewables in Mpumalanga: Employment effects, opportunities for local value creation, skills requirements, and gender-inclusiveness”, which was published on January 18.
A 510 kW and 1 MWh solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage installation to power the packhouse and cold store facilities of Zimbabwean agricultural company Nhimbe Fresh has started generating electricity. The $1.4-million project was funded through a crowd-sale completed by solar leasing platform Sun Exchange.
Consultancy AmaranthCX has published a new electronic map of the electricity infrastructure in countries that are part of the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) for use with Google Earth or Google Maps.
The map geolocates 317 operating power stations across the 11 member countries of SAPP, as well as substations and transmission and distribution lines.
Eskom has acknowledged that urgent interventions are needed to assist certain large industrial customers, some of which are competing with international companies whose electricity is subsidised, to navigate the transition to cost-reflective electricity tariffs. In a presentation on the third day of public hearings into the State-owned utility’s 2022/23 allowable revenue application, CFO Calib Cassim said that the country needed to assist industry to remain sustainable, as retaining such operations was critical from an economic perspective.
The Johannesburg High Court has declined to grant a declaratory order sought by directors of the Gupta-linked Tegeta Exploration and Resources to prevent business rescue practitioners from progressing the rescue of Optimum Coal Terminal. The judgment, handed down on Tuesday, has, however, immediately sparked an engagement between the business rescue practitioners of the Terminal and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which has threatened to seek another interdict if talks fail.
An Eskom security officer has been shot dead in Soweto. Around 30 heavily armed suspects shot at the officer and six of his colleagues on Tuesday, 11 January during an alleged attempt to steal copper cable outside the Eskom Klipspruit Customer Network Centre (CNC) in Soweto.
INDUSTRY NEWS
WHERE TO FIND US
Address
9 Yellow Street
Botshabelo Industrial Area
Botshabelo, Free State
Call / Email Us
Tel: +27 (0) 51 534 1651
Email: info@transfix.co.za
