State-owned power utility Eskom has issued a tender seeking a service provider to drive the Komati Power Station socioeconomic development plan to assist with the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Part of the plan includes the management and implementation of mitigation measures for the socioeconomic impacts resulting from the shutdown of the coal-fired generating units at Eskom’s Komati Power Station. The last of the coal-fired units at Komati reached its end of operational life in October 2022 and was shut down.
South Africa’s finance ministry has appointed a consultant to come up with a plan by August to allow utility Eskom to accept-billions in loans designed to help it cut its carbon emissions when the government has blocked it from taking on new debt. Wealthy nations, including Britain, France, Germany, the European Union and the United States, committed $8.5-billion at UN climate talks in November 2021 to help South Africa cut its emissions and accelerate a shift from coal, which provides most of its electricity generation.
Cape Town’s energy strategy, which has been released for public comment, envisages the addition of 650 MW of new independent generation within five years in line with the city’s stated goal of protecting itself against four stages of loadshedding by 2026. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis indicates that the new supply will be secured from various sources, including from city-owned generators, independent power producers (IPPs), from residents and businesses feeding into the grid, as well as through wheeling and trading.
China and South Africa will deepen cooperation, trade and investment in new energy technologies to help South Africa overcome its energy challenges and reignite its economic growth. During the China-South Africa New Energy Investment and Cooperation conference, held in Sandton, on June 13, South Africa’s ambassador to China Siyabonga Cwele emphasised that the countries had reached a consensus on several global issues, including green or sustainable development, the digital economy, the just energy transition, technology exchange and skills required for the future.
The UK Government has announced that it awarding funding of £4.3-million (about R100.66-million) to seven British universities and technology companies to develop technologies necessary to create a space-based solar power (SBSP) sector, to provide the country with green energy. Of the funding, £3.3-million (some R77.25-million) will be provided by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, while the rest will come from the UK Space Agency. SBSP would see large solar arrays deployed in space, generating electricity, which would then be transmitted down to Earth, using wireless (microwave) technology, in a safe manner, and introduced into terrestrial transmission grids. Space-based solar arrays would be in sunlight for 99% of the time.
The zero-emission, green-energy-powered Energy Observer (EO) has docked in Cape Town for a visit of just more than a week. The vessel, which acts as an on-the-water laboratory able to test various forms of environmentally friendly energy, is covered in 202 m2 of solar panels.
African manufacturers have a significant role to play in helping to remedy the continent’s energy crises by developing innovative solutions for energy storage and access. By creating products tailored to the needs of the African context, manufacturers can help reduce energy poverty, increase energy efficiency and spur economic growth. However, this depends on whether the right environment is created to help manufacturers expand operations and pursue cross-border investment opportunities, electromechanical equipment manufacturer Actom Group CEO and Manufacturing Circle chairperson Mervyn Naidoo says.
The Presidency has moved to outline the criteria that will be used before any decision is made to delay the decommissioning of certain coal-fired power stations to take account of the prevailing supply deficit and has also dismissed suggestions that there is any plan to extend the life of the stations. Addressing the Presidential Planning Commission (PCC) on June 9, project management office head Rudi Dicks acknowledged that the decision to potentially revise the schedule had raised questions both domestically and with the International Partners Group that had agreed to provide $8.5-billion-worth of concessional finding to support South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP).
The City of Cape Town aims to reduce the turnaround time of applications for small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) systems by allocating more resources to deal with the applications, switching to an online application system and simplifying the customer experience. With the big uptake in solar photovoltaic (PV) and batteries owing to loadshedding, there has also been an increase in fly-by-night operators. Many of these systems are not wired correctly or are inferior, contributing to the extended power outages the city is experiencing following load-shedding. The city wants to ensure customers are not negatively impacted, it said in a statement.
Stage 3 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 until midnight on Friday, as per previous notices, Eskom said in a statement. But after that, Stage 1 loadshedding will kick in from 05:00 until 16:00 on Saturday, followed by Stage 4 until midnight.
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