Bid submission deadline for battery storage programme postponed to 2 August

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has postponed the bid submission date for the public procurement of battery energy storage systems (BESS) from July 5 to August 2. The postponement was confirmed on June 27, along with confirmation that compulsory bid registration, including the payment of a registration fee, had been extended to July 7.
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Actom takes over manufacturing facility in Kenya

Electrical equipment and services supplier Actom will take over a low-voltage product manufacturing facility in Kenya from existing technology partner Schneider Electric as part of Actom’s industrial expansion into East Africa. CEO Mervyn Naidoo says the company is planning to establish industrial hubs in East, West and eventually North Africa, which will provide a platform for the broader portfolio of the company’s products and services in these regions.
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Eskom’s ‘onerous’ new grid access rules receive cool reception

Eskom’s newly released Interim Grid Capacity Allocation Rules (IGCAR), formulated in response to surging demand for grid access in a context of acute grid scarcity, have received a cool reception from industry, with some of the conditions included in the new framework being viewed as “onerous”. GM for operations enablement Velaphi Ntuli says the IGCAR, which have been developed and canvassed over the past six months, have been designed to ensure that shovel-ready generation projects are given priority.
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JUWI South Africa now has 400 MW of EPC projects under way in the mining sector

Solar, wind and hybrid project developer, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance company JUWI South Africa now has 400 MW of EPC projects in advanced stages of development for mines in South Africa. This follows the financial close of the 89 MW Castle Wind project by the African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) Consortium for diversified miner Sibanye-Stillwater’s South African mining operations.
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MTN SA deploys ‘five-generation’ technology in IPP efforts

Telecommunications giant MTN South Africa is deploying multiple generation technologies, including solar, gas and battery energy systems, in one plant at its head office in Fairlands, Johannesburg, as it works toward becoming a standalone independent power producer (IPP). The plant, which houses five different generation technologies – said to be a first in South Africa – has a full load of 4.5 MW during loadshedding.
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Exxaro’s first-half export coal sales to fall 6% on logistics challenges, low prices

Diversified resources company Exxaro Resources expects to report a 6% decrease in export coal sales volumes to 2.51-million tonnes for the six months ended June 30, compared with 2.67-million tonnes for the six months ended December 31, 2022, as a result of Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR’s) poor rail performance to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) and the viability of trucking coal to alternative ports being negatively impacted by the lower coal prices. FD Riaan Koppeschaar notes in a pre-close statement to shareholders that TFR had railed 19.95-million tonnes of coal the RBCT during the five months ended May 31, which is equivalent to an annualised rate of 46.46-million tonnes.
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