Just Share wants Sasol’s appeal for alternative measurement of Secunda’s air pollution rejected

Sasol’s appeal of the National Air Quality Officer’s (NAQO’s) July 11 refusal to approve an alternative approach for measuring the sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the 17 coal boilers at the group’s Secunda complex, in Mpumalanga, is being strongly opposed by shareholder activism organisation Just Share. Sasol lodged an appeal with Environment Minister Barbara Creecy on July 30, after the NAQO declined its application to have the boilers’ SO2 emissions regulated, from April 1, 2025 onwards, using a load-based emission limit rather than the prevailing concentration-based emissions limit used for setting Minimum Emission Standards (MES).
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China’s dominance a key factor in renewable energy subsidy wars

One of the primary catalysts for the prevalent global emergence of subsidies within the renewable energy sector stems from the dominance of China, research firm BMI Research operational risk analyst Keaton Fitzpatrick has said. Speaking at a webinar hosted by BMI Research – a Fitch Solutions company – titled ‘Subsidy Wars and The Energy Transition, The Race To Develop Low Carbon Energy Manufacturing’ on August 24, he said China had unequivocally established its preeminence across the global energy supply chain, encompassing vital components of renewable energy, as well as the critical mineral provisions and corresponding market domains.
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Distribution is ‘albatross’ of power system – Ramokgopa

South Africa’s electricity distribution system is “an albatross” beset by fighting between the national power utility and municipalities as the government takes steps to stabilize the grid, according to the electricity minister. State-owned Eskom Holdings has focused on improving the performance of the mainly coal-fired power stations that have become unreliable due to neglected maintenance, resulting in record electricity outages that curb economic growth.
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Eskom’s troubled Tutuka station to start bringing units back online within weeks, says Ramokgopa

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is confident that two units at “perennial underperformer” Tutuka power station will come back onstream in September, he said during a media briefing on Sunday. This comes as the plant got a helping hand from the Resource Mobilisation Fund – a vehicle launched by Business for South Africa (BUSA) earlier this year to support the rollout of president Cyril Ramaphosa’s Energy Action Plan.
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‘Dominant player’ China made sense as renewables partner, says Ramokgopa

China is an ideal partner to help South Africa as it builds its renewable energy capacity, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has said, given that it is a “dominant player in the renewables space” and has “done the kind of modernisation that is required”. The minister’s comments come on the back of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, where he signed two overarching memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with China, relating to a donation from that country to help solve SA’s power crisis, as well help move SA’s energy transition forward.
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