NUM backs Mantashe on pro-coal stance

Labour union the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has expressed its support for Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe’s pro-coal stance, alleging “coercion” efforts to move away from the carbon-intensive fuel are driven by an “anti-fossil fuel agenda”.

As he has done on numerous occasions, Mantashe reaffirmed his strong pro-coal convictions most recently at the Africa Energy Indaba, held in Cape Town, on March 7.

/by

Opinion: We need more than plans to achieve a just energy transition

In this article, Tutwa Consulting Group Just Energy Transition Programme senior associate engineer Stuart Reneke and economist Danae Govender write that South Africa needs a comprehensive monitoring system to ensure it is able to achieve a just energy transition.
/by

Opinion: Eskom is proactively dealing with fraud and corruption

In this article written on March 10, Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana insists that the State-owned utility is resolute in pursuing those who have enriched themselves at the expense of our organisation and South Africa.
/by

Renewable energy presents solutions to South Africa’s energy crisis, Scatec says

South Africa’s energy crisis has considerably impacted the country’s economy, with loadshedding affecting food security, infrastructure and communication networks, as well as various key economic sectors, like mining, tourism and manufacturing. Clean energy company Scatec sub-Saharan Africa executive VP Jan Fourie has described the conundrum as not just an energy crisis, but a fossil fuel dependency crisis.
/by

Kibo appoints energy veteran Oldacre as business development executive

Dual-listed energy developer Kibo Energy has appointed Peter Oldacre as business development executive. The company says in a statement released on March 10 that Oldacre’s impressive credentials distinguish him as an experienced renewable energy and energy storage project developer with deep technical, financial and commercial experience.
/by

B4SA launches independent fund for corporates to support Energy Action Plan

Business body Business for South Africa (B4SA), together with the Presidency, on March 9 announced the establishment of a Resource Mobilisation Fund (RMF) to help capacitate the National Energy Crisis Committee (Necom).

Necom aims to reduce the severity and frequency of loadshedding in the short term, as well as achieve a secure and sustainable supply of energy in South Africa in the long term.

RMF chairperson and B4SA chairperson Martin Kingston explains that various individuals and private sector organisations have pledged their support to the President’s Energy Action Plan (EAP) announced in July last year, and came together to establish the RMF as a mechanism for business in South Africa to support the implementation of the plan.

/by

DTIC calls for public comments on block exemptions for energy suppliers, users

Following the declaration of a National State of Disaster to address the energy crisis, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel on March 8 published draft exemptions from certain parts of competition laws, to enable companies to collaborate on energy matters. Patel has, in terms of Section 10(10) of the Competition Act, gazetted a notice calling for the public to comment on the draft block exemptions for energy suppliers and users.
/by

Electricity minister says it’s ‘highly irresponsible’ to predict when loadshedding will end

Newly appointed Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa believes government will be ambitious in its plans to stop loadshedding, but he is not yet ready to say when that is expected to happen. “Loadshedding, and I want to emphasise [this] on national TV we are going to resolve it… [but] it is highly irresponsible to just shoot from the hip and say this date, that date,” Ramokgopa said in an interview with the SABC on Thursday evening.
/by

Company’s new furnaces under scrutiny

Luxemburg-based ArcelorMittal’s path to net zero emissions has come under scrutiny as it starts the construction of a new coal-based blast furnace in India which contrasts with low-carbon steelmaking in Europe and Canada. In a report released last month it was suggested that ArcelorMittal should prepare for difficult questions in its upcoming annual general meeting in May about how the company intends to reach net zero by 2050, as the company builds this new coal-powered blast furnaces in a joint venture with metal producer Nippon Steel of Japan (AM/NS India). 
/by

How battery storage can help SA navigate its grid and loadshedding challenges

Amid the current energy crisis, declared to be a state of disaster during last month’s State of the Nation Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa, battery energy storage systems (BESS) could potentially provide some near-term relief in areas of grid constraint, while also allowing households some protection against loadshedding. The ‘Understanding Energy Storage’ handbook – released last year by the African Legal Support Facility in partnership with the Commercial Law Development Program and Power Africa – outlines the implications of implementing BESS as an alternative to traditional power solutions.
/by