Despite wealthy nations’ pledged $R8.5-billion (approximately R150-billion) and further pledges and investments, South Africa faces a R660-billion financing shortfall for the just energy transition, expected to cost R1.5-trillion over five years. This was revealed by Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy in a response to a parliamentary question.
The return of Koeberg’s Unit 1 to commercial service has been delayed by a further 10 days as some critical tests are still to be completed before the reactor is started. The last date that Eskom provided for the return of Unit 1 from the extension of life project was 3 November. It is now expected to be returned around 13 November. Unit 2 will then be taken offline to replace its steam generators. The extension project will give Koeberg a 20-year extension of its licence, which expires in July 2024.
Africa is largely transitioning “from nothing”, says South Sudan Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol. Speaking on Africa’s agenda for the forthcoming COP28 at the African Energy Week held in Cape Town this week, Chol said to “transition means to move – we need to move to energy first before can talk about an energy transition. We need reliable, affordable and accessible energy, no matter where it comes from.”
Eskom insists its systems and strategies are in place to facilitate the seamless operation of the 6.8-million prepaid meters within its distribution areas after November 24 next year – the date by which the meters will no longer be able to accept electricity tokens unless they have been recoded to do so. All Standard Transfer Specification (STS) meters globally, including those in municipal distribution areas in South Africa, are subject to the cut-off deadline. The reason being that the Token Identifier, or TID, range, which is set against a base date of January 1, 1993, will be exhausted by in November 2024 unless reset.
Cabinet has approved the Green Hydrogen Commercialisation Strategy (GHCS) for implementation, with the goal of positioning South Africa as a major producer and exporter of green hydrogen. Government has estimated that the hydrogen economy has the potential to add 3.6% to gross domestic product by 2050 and create 370 000 jobs.
Eskom interim CEO Calib Cassim has described unlocking grid connection capacity, using curtailment, as an urgent priority while Eskom and other stakeholders assess funding options to expand the transmission network. Speaking at a climate conference in Johannesburg, Cassim reported that discussions were under way on how to ensure that more renewable-energy independent power producers (IPPs) were connected to the grid ahead of the large-scale grid-related investment that was being planned.
The Energy One Stop Shop, or EOSS, which was officially launched by Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel in July, is in the ramp-up phase of a four-stage process aimed at fast-tracking the regulatory approvals required for new electricity projects to be connected to the grid. Cameron Mackay tells us more.
One of the biggest positive developments over the last 12 months has been the “convergence of ideas on what we need to do to resolve the energy crisis”, says Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) director-general (DG) Jacob Mbele. “We come from a period where people were pushing for certain technologies, but there is now almost general consensus around the fact that we first have to fix what we have to ensure that we have energy security.”
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has called on the private sector to “please and come talk to us” if they have any ideas on extending the life of South Africa’s fleet of coal-fired power stations. “There are many that have been earmarked for decommissioning because they are near the end of their life, but there is a view that is growing in Cabinet that many of them must have their life extended.”
While any funding of South Africa’s embattled energy sector is welcome, South Africa should not “be pushed into a corner” on how this money should be spent, says South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) CEO Dr Zwanani Titus Mathe. “South Africa should not be dictated to on what technologies should be considered. Of source we should consider renewables…but the negative impact may be that we may be told to use this money only for solar or wind, and not for clean coal [projects].
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