The heads of the Ghana Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate closely on nuclear safety and regulation. This reaffirmation, jointly by NRA director-general Nii Kwashie Allotey and NRC Chair Christopher T Hanson, was made at the end of last week when the latter was on a visit to Ghana. The two agencies signed their first bilateral cooperation and technical information exchange agreement in 2017. This agreement, and the subsequent cooperation between them, was part of broader Ghanaian-US initiative to assist the African country in developing a civil nuclear power programme. The cooperation between the NRA and NRC embraced issues such as nuclear energy safety and security-related issues.
South Africa’s State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has shortlisted three consortia to participate in an upcoming bidding process to design, fund and construct a greenfield deep-water port at Boegoebaai in the Northern Cape, as well as rail infrastructure linking the port to mines in the province. Located some 20 km south of Alexander Bay, which is close to the Namibian border, sun-drenched Boegoebaai has also been earmarked as a possible site for the development of a green-hydrogen hub.
The City of Cape Town has announced that all solar photovoltaic (PV) and/or battery systems connected to the wiring of a building must be registered with the city before installation. Also, from October onwards, only city-approved inverters will be accepted for these systems.
South Africa’s electricity minister attacked the country’s groundbreaking $8.5-billion climate finance pact with some of the world’s richest nations whereby it will close some coal-fired power plants and re-purpose them to produce renewable energy. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told a meeting organized by Standard Bank Group that the closure of Eskom Holdings’s Komati Power Station, the first plant to be shuttered, was “an injustice that is unfolding at Komati in the name of the transition.”
The World Bank’s private sector financier, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has indicated a willingness to fund public–private partnerships (PPPs) aimed at expanding and strengthening South Africa’s transmission infrastructure. IFC VP for Africa Sérgio Pimenta tells Engineering News that the private sector already plays a significant role in deploying electricity grids in most developed countries and some emerging markets and that South Africa is well-placed to pilot such PPPs in light of the urgent need to expand the domestic grid, particularly in provinces with potent wind and solar resources.
Power utility Eskom has announced that Stage 5 loadshedding will be implemented from 14:00 on Monday. This was “due to further delays in returning generating units to service”, as well as “the further failure of 5 generating units” on Monday.
State-owned Eskom’s distribution business has launched another microgrid, this time at Swartkopdam, about 150 km from Upington, in the Northern Cape. Microgrids are capable of electrifying geographically challenging areas that are either difficult to access or require extensive capital expenditure.
Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says he is “worried and also extremely upset” about developments at the Koeberg nuclear power station, where fears have increased that both units could be out simultaneously later this year owing to another Unit 1 outage slip.
Speaking during his weekly Energy Action Plan briefing, Ramokgopa said “he was none the wiser” about the status of the current Unit 1 outage, despite having met with Koeberg managers during the week.
The South African government has expressed concern that its plans for the addition of new renewables capacity could be disrupted should a legal challenge launched against Eskom’s recently announced grid allocation rules prevail and has also indicated that it would favour a settlement instead. G7 Renewable Energies, together with two of its wind farm companies, has launched a two-part application to, firstly, interdict the implementation of Eskom’s Interim Grid Capacity Allocation (IGCA) rules, which came into force on June 27, as well as to have the rules reviewed and set aside based on their alleged illegality under the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act.
Due to higher than anticipated demand, Stage 5 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 today until midnight on Friday, Eskom said in a statement. Thereafter, Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Sunday. Breakdowns have reduced to 16 302MW of generating capacity while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 3 616MW, it added. Over the past 24 hours, a generating unit each at Arnot, Duvha and two generating units at Matla power stations were returned to service. But at the same time, a generating unit each at Grootvlei, Kendal, Kriel and two generating units at Camden power stations were taken offline for repairs. “The delay in returning to service a generating unit at Kendal and two generating units at Tutuka power stations is contributing to the current capacity constraints,” Eskom said.
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