IAEA approves Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant treated water discharge plan

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a specialist agency of the United Nations, announced on Tuesday that Japan’s plan to release treated water, currently stored at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP), into the sea, was consistent with the IAEA Safety Standards. The Fukushima Daiichi NPP, owned and operated by Tokyo Power Company (Tepco), was wrecked by the tsunami triggered by the massive Tōhoku earthquake in March 2011.  The earthquake knocked out the primary cooling systems for the NPP, and the tsunami disabled the backup cooling systems for three of the NPP’s reactors, causing them, despite being in shutdown mode, to overheat and suffer meltdowns. The reactors had to be cooled by pumping water into them, which contaminated the water, which was then collected and stored in a rapidly-constructed tank farm at the NPP.
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South Africa power outages may have reduced growth by 3.2 percentage points

South Africa’s energy crisis may have reduced the nation’s economic growth rate by as much as 3.2 percentage points last year and is likely to dampen output until at least early 2024, according to the central bank. Eskom frequently implements loadshedding to protect the grid from collapse as the State-owned utility’s aging and poorly maintained plants can’t meet demand. Regular outages since January have lasted as long as 12 hours a day.
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PVInsight tests its 20 000th solar PV module

Consider a large solar photovoltaic (PV) plant with 300 000 PV modules or panels as they are commonly called. How do you know whether they meet the quality or power output standards specified by the manufacturer? You will need to test 300 to 500 of them on a plant of this size, preferably before installation or on site if they are already installed. With solar PV being one of South Africa’s fastest growing industries, it is essential to independently test the quality, performance and durability of a sample of modules at every plant. The size of the sample is determined by the size of the plant according to specific standards.
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Eskom starts prepaid electricity meter update 10 years after finding out they will go dark in 2024

Eskom recently announced that it will be starting a national rollout to update the 6.6-million prepaid electricity meters under its control before they become non-operational on 24 November 2024. The utility has known about the issue for more than 10 years, according to Don Taylor, the inventor of the first prepaid electricity meter, who is heading up the rollover project for the Standard Transfer Specification Association (STSA).
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South Africa can’t afford to kick grid investment can down the road – Ramokgopa

Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa argues that South Africa should give urgent attention to the strengthening and expansion of the transmission grid to avoid any further extension of the prevailing loadshedding crisis, which he says has its genesis largely in the failure of government to respond timeously to the need to add new generation capacity. “We can’t kick the can down the road in a similar manner as we did with generation,” Ramokgopa said of transmission grid investment during his weekly briefing on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan.
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Loadshedding suspended (briefly) on Friday night – then it’s Stage 3 at peak hours

Stage 3 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 on Friday until midnight. After that, it will be suspended until 16:00 on Saturday.  Stage 3 loadshedding will then be implemented again over the evening peak from 16:00 until midnight. This pattern will be repeated until further notice, Eskom said. Breakdowns have reduced to 14 374 MW of generating capacity, while the capacity out of service for planned maintenance has been boosted to 5 003 MW.
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South Africa needs to deal with ‘energy poverty’ – Mantashe

South Africa must balance the need to cut emissions with increasing electricity access and developing its natural resources, according to the nation’s energy minister. “We can’t be only about decarbonisation,” Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe said in a televised speech in Johannesburg on Friday. “We must deal with energy poverty.”
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BYD announces launch Atto 3 EV in South Africa

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Build Your Dreams (BYD) has officially launched its battery-powered Atto 3 crossover model EV in the South African market. At a launch event in Melrose Arch on June 29, BYD confirmed that the standard and extended Atto 3 ranges would be sold at a five-year, 100 000 km warranty and service plan.
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Scatec’s 273 MW Grootfontein projects become first BW5 solar projects to reach financial close

Three solar photovoltaic (PV) projects bid under the much-delayed fifth bid window (BW5) of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), which was implemented in 2021, have advanced to financial close. The Grootfontein projects, which are being developed by Scatec of Norway, have a combined capacity of 273 MW and a combined investment value of R5.1-billion.
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SA’s deep-level mines could hold big gravity energy storage potential

Although gravity-based energy storage (GES) as a technology is still in its infancy globally, stakeholders from industry and academia have highlighted its potential in the South African mining industry. Gravity-based systems are being investigated worldwide as an option for the long-term storage of renewable energy, typically using the hydraulic lifting of large rock mass.
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