Anglo, EDF form new joint renewable energy thrust

Diversified mining company Anglo American, in partnership with EDF Renewables, on Tuesday announces an agreement to form a new jointly owned company, Envusa Energy, to develop a regional renewable energy ecosystem in South Africa. The energy ecosystem is also expected to catalyse economic activity in South Africa’s renewable energy sector, supporting the country’s broader just energy transition. It follows the two companies signing a memorandum of understanding in March to explore the ecosystem’s development, designed to meet Anglo American’s operational power requirements in South Africa and support the resilience of the local electricity supply systems and the wider decarbonisation of energy in the country.
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A landmark $8.5bn climate finance deal hangs in the balance

A landmark $8.5-billion deal to help wean South Africa off its dependence on coal is hanging in the balance amid fraught negotiations with rich donor countries over how the funds should be spent. The climate finance deal, unveiled at UN-led talks in Glasgow last year, was hailed as a prototype for helping other coal-dependent developing countries transition to cleaner energy sources. Its success or failure could have a knock-on effect at next month’s COP27 summit in Egypt, which is expected to focus on the financing needs of poorer countries adapting to a warming atmosphere.
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Distributed generation investment will ‘grind to halt’ if Eskom’s retail tariff reforms …

Economic and energy advisory company Meridian Economics is warning that the implementation of Eskom’s proposed retail tariff plan could severely disincentivise investment into the large distributed generation plants required to reduce, or end load-shedding, in the coming few years. The plan, which the utility says is necessary to rebalance variable and fixed charges in light of technology changes under way in the sector, has already met with stiff opposition from some residential customers and opposition political parties after the plan was submitted to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa for approval.
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Mantashe unexpectedly addresses oil conference on Monday

Although not programmed to do so, South African Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe addressed the Ministerial and VIP Symposium of the Africa Oil Week conference and Green Energy Africa Summit, being held in Cape Town, on Monday. Mantashe was programmed to deliver a keynote address at the conference on Tuesday.
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Southern Africa well-placed to produce renewables, green hydrogen for export – Kearney

A study by global management consultancy Kearney has noted that Southern Africa, which has favourable conditions for renewable energy production, will be able to store renewable energy and export it to areas where renewable energy production is technically or economically limited. “The world’s steadily growing demand for hydrogen is expected to exceed supply by 2030, making now an ideal time to invest. Although Southern Africa has a major opportunity to produce green hydrogen, the region’s demand is projected to be lower than the demand centres in Europe and Asia,” says Kearney partner Prashaen Reddy.
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EIUG, Busa welcome appointment of new Eskom board with balanced skills

Industry nonprofit the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG) welcomes the “overdue reconstitution of the Eskom board” and says “the new board seems complete and well balanced in terms of its skills and experience”. The previous board was “heavily handicapped” with a number of vacancies, which severely affected its skill sets and, thereby, added an enormous task to the existing directors, it adds.
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Makwana returns to lead new Eskom board that includes five engineers

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan unveiled the names of the new Eskom board, which includes five engineers and a trade unionist, and which is to be led by Mpho Makwana, who was appointed executive chairperson at the utility in late 2009 following a previous leadership crisis. The board, whose three-year appointment begins on October 1, comprises 13 nonexecutive directors, including Dr Rod Crompton who has been retained from the previous board, and two executive directors, CEO André de Ruyter and CFO Calib Cassim.
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Association revamps to improve services

The Southern African Biogas Industry Association (Sabia) will introduce its updated business plan and path to reach its 2030 goals at its ‘Vision 2030 – building a sustainable Southern African biogas market’ round table next month. Hosted by Sabia, it will include a discussion by representatives from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), global industry body the World Biogas Association, as well as government and financial representatives in the environmental space.
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Prototype waste-to-fuel pilot plant designed

In its drive to become a leading global supplier of green value from waste solutions, local waste solutions provider Explorius has designed its first coal fines and waste-to-fuel pilot plant for the manufacture of briquettes and pellets from waste generated during industrial processes. The pilot plant has a focus on converting coal fines from the coal mining process into usable briquettes, but the technology can be used to convert a variety of waste products into energy.
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Circular economy uptake addressed

The need for and uptake of the circular economy mindset by larger organisations locally and globally was addressed during a webinar hosted by the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) last month. The webinar, titled ESGS Webinar: Circular economy: Opportunities and Benefits, was chaired by SAIMM environmental, social, governance and sustainability committee founder Gordon Smith, and the key speaker was leading platinum producer Anglo American Platinum sustainable impact head Steven Bullock.
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