The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has approved an electricity trading licence for Envusa Energy – a joint venture between diversified miner Anglo-American and renewable energy company EDF Renewables South Africa (EDF).

In November, Envusa lodged an application for a licence to trade electricity in South Africa’s Northern Cape, North West, Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces over the Eskom network.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has extended the timeframe for submissions of public comments on the draft South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) Bill, published in government gazette number 49711, of November 13, to January 15, 2024.
 
The Bill, according to the DMRE, aims to establish the SANPC, ensure proper governance and to consolidate and transfer assets of the company in line with the relevant legislation, with the DMRE Minister – currently Gwede Mantashe – as the sole shareholder of the company.
A team of explorers – the Gebrüder Weiss Peak Evolution Team – followed through on successfully setting a new world altitude record for electric vehicles after driving an electric truck to an altitude of 6 500 m above sea level, mid-December.

The team drove up to the western ridge of Ojos del Salado, in Chile – the highest active volcano on Earth – in their truck powered exclusively by solar energy.

The construction of a major hybrid renewables project in South Africa, comprising a 216 MW solar plant and a 500 MWh battery storage system to manage the intermittency of solar production, has been launched by diversified energy company TotalEnergies and its partners.

The project, located in the Northern Cape, will supply dispatchable renewable electricity to the South African national grid for 20 years, equivalent to over 400 GWh a year.