Eskom calls for community help to combat theft, vandalism of its assets

State-owned power utility Eskom requests that community members play an active role in preventing criminal activities and minimise vandalism of its assets. Eskom continues to experience high incidents of theft and vandalism of its distribution infrastructure around the country. The perpetrators vandalise and steal transformers and copper cables and bypass meter boxes, substations, control rooms and security fences, impacting on the security of supply.
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JERA, MHI demo plant aimed at increasing ammonia co-firing rate at coal-fired boilers

Japanese power generation company JERA and industrial equipment manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will conduct a project to develop and demonstrate technology to increase the ammonia co-firing rate at coal-fired boilers, after their grant application, under the Green Innovation Fund programme of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation, was accepted. This project aims to develop an ammonia single-fuel burner suitable for coal-fired boilers and to demonstrate operation of the burner at actual boilers. The project is expected to continue until 2028.
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The EU includes nuclear in a draft amendment to its clean energy ‘taxonomy’

The European Commission, which is the executive branch of the European Union (EU), has included nuclear energy in its draft ‘Complementary Designated Act’ (CDA) of the EU ‘Taxonomy Regulation’ regarding green energy. The draft CDA, which had previously been leaked to the media, has now been formally released to EU member states for consultation. (The draft CDA also includes natural gas as a green energy source, but only on a transitional basis. This means that natural gas will have to be phased out as more sustainable energy sources become available. The terminal date for the construction of taxonomy-compliant natural gas energy projects is December 31, 2030.)
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Sefa provides $1m to support Botswana’s energy transition

The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (Sefa), managed by development finance institution the African Development Bank (AfDB), has approved a $1-million grant to facilitate Botswana’s transition to clean energy. The technical assistance project supports the government of Botswana in closing critical gaps in policy, regulatory and legal frameworks, which were identified at the Africa Energy Market Place and which include the introduction of least-cost planning, reduction of adverse environmental impacts and support for increased private sector participation in renewable energy generation investments.
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Clean energy and climate change on South Africa’s radar

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses decarbonisation as an opportunity to create quality employment; South Africa’s need to transition to clean energy without creating job losses and ghost towns in areas where fossil fuels provide the overwhelming economic support; and South Africa’s appreciation of platinum fuel cells being recognised increasingly as the world’s only zero-emission answer to climate change.  
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Ukraine announces plans to expand its uranium sector to boost energy self-sufficiency

The government of Ukraine has approved a plan to expand the country’s uranium production. “The main purpose of this concept is to create conditions for increasing uranium production to fully meet the needs of domestic nuclear energy, as well as increase Ukraine’s energy independence,” explained Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko. Currently, nuclear energy provides Ukraine with 54% of its electricity. The country has 15 operational large reactors, all of Russian design. In the past few months, the Ukrainian government has announced a nuclear new build programme, which will be developed in cooperation with the US. This programme will make use of the AP1000 reactor developed by US company Westinghouse, of which at least five are to be built. All will be located at existing nuclear power plant sites, with the first to be constructed at Khmelnitsky.
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Korean group preselected for major subcontracts on Egyptian nuclear power plant

Russian State-owned nuclear group Rosatom has selected South Korean group Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) to be the sole bidder for several major contracts for the El Dabaa nuclear power plant (NPP) in Egypt, World Nuclear News (WNN) reported on Tuesday. KHNP is a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corporation (better known as Kepco). El Dabaa will be Egypt’s first NPP, and is planned to be composed of four reactors and will be built by Rosatom. These reactors will all be VVER-1200 units (VVER being the Russian equivalent to the Western pressurised water reactor.)
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SAB switching to renewable electricity to brew Castle Lite

South African Breweries (SAB) has committed to brewing with renewable electricity by 2025 as part of its efforts to take pressure off the national electricity grid and to meet its sustainability goals. The move is in line with holding company Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) globally committing to the 2025 Sustainability Goals in climate action by adding renewable electricity capacity to regional grids and to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions globally.
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A Pebble-Bed Modular Nuclear Reactor supplies grid electricity – in China

Last month, a Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) nuclear power plant (NPP) was connected to an electricity grid and began to supply power to its region. This took place on December 20, at the Shidaowan NPP in China’s Shandong province. “From this moment on, the electricity generated from the Shidaowan nuclear power plant will be dispatched by the state to deliver daily electricity to thousands of households,” highlighted Tsinghua University. The PBMR NPP is composed of two reactors, which drive a single 210 MWe turbine. The first of the PBMRs achieved criticality in September and the second followed suit in November. It was the steam produced by the first reactor that was used to test the turbine. The official designation of the Chinese version of the PBMR concept is High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor – Pebble-bed Module (HTR-PM).
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Eskom expects clarity on transmission unit start early this year

Power utility Eskom Holdings expects clarity early this year around the start of its independent transmission unit, which still awaits licence approvals and the sign-off of creditors. Separating the business, with generation and distribution arms to follow, is part of the company’s strategy to return to profitability. Eskom signed a legally binding agreement with the new subsidiary, though a number of steps remain before the process is complete.
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