Microgrid centre of excellence established at CSIR

A Microgrid Centre of Excellence (CoE) has been launched at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in partnership with Power Africa, a US government-led initiative coordinated by the United States Agency for International Development. The centre will support local utilities with microgrid implementation projects as an alternative way of achieving universal access to electricity.
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Concor to add 5.74 MW of solar to Eastgate shopping centre upper parking

Construction contractor Concor is working on a project to build a 5.74 MW solar photovoltaic power plant in the Eastgate shopping centre’s upper parking area, adding to the centre’s existing 1 MW solar plant. This project aligns with JSE-listed real estate investment trust Liberty 2 Degrees’ execution of its 2030 net-zero targets, which includes reducing energy reliance on the grid, and a focus on creating good and smart spaces.
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SAWEA says nearly 1 000 MW of private wind projects now registered with Nersa

Wind projects with a combined capacity of 984 MW have been registered with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), a development that the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) sees as representing a shift from the single buyer model that has hitherto underpinned renewables investment to a more open arrangement. The change, SAWEA says, has been brought about by the removal of the licensing requirement for private generation plants that are proceeding on the basis of bilateral power purchase agreements with private off-takers.
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South African government committed to developing the hydrogen economy – Minister

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande has highlighted the country’s determination to develop a hydrogen economy, for a low carbon-emissions future. He did so at the recent meeting of the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE) steering committee, in Pretoria. The IPHE is an intergovernmental organisation with 22 members, which share information to encourage research and development into hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, and their actual deployment, around the world. South Africa currently chairs the steering committee.
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Sasol issues $1bn in senior notes

Energy and chemicals multinational Sasol has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Sasol Financing USA (the issuer) has priced an offering of $1-billion of dollar-denominated notes due 2029. The notes will bear interest at a rate of 8.750% a year and will be general unsecured obligations of the issuer and will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Sasol.
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Cabinet targets 1 000 MW of demand-side savings as winter approaches

Cabinet reports that a target has been set to save about 1 000 MW, or the equivalent of one stage of loadshedding, through demand side management (DSM) measures, but has provided no details as to what initiatives will be introduced and at what cost. Presenting the outcomes of Cabinet’s April 26 meeting, Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni described lowering electricity usage, especially during the evening peak from 17:00 to 21:00, as representing a “win-win” solution. She argued that DSM initiatives could reduce pressure on the power grid and save households and firms money “without affecting business productivity or quality of life”.
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Winde reaffirms province’s programme to free itself from loadshedding

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has reaffirmed his administration’s determination to rapidly reduce, and ultimately end, the impact of electricity loadshedding (scheduled rotating power cuts, imposed by national electricity utility Eskom) on the province. He did so in his keynote address at the ground-breaking ceremony for a solar power plant at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) facility in Somerset West (in south-west Cape Town). “We really aim to become independent when it comes to energy provision,” he assured. “We want four or five towns this year to be loadshedding free.”
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Rheinmetall Denel Munition is building a solar energy plant at its Somerset West facility

The official groundbreaking ceremony for a 5.06 MWp capacity solar energy plant at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) plant at Somerset West, in metropolitan Cape Town, was held late Wednesday afternoon. (Because of circumstances, the civils works on the site had had to be started before the official groundbreaking took place.)   “Today marks a critical milestone in our energy transition journey in South Africa,” highlighted RDM CEO Jan-Patrick Helmsen in his address. The solar plant is being built to immunise the Somerset West facility from the effects of the scheduled rotating power cuts imposed on the country by the national electricity utility Eskom, because of its lack of operational generating capacity. Loadshedding has had “quite a significant impact on us, as an industry,” he noted, adding that it had cost RDM “a lot of money” last year.
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De Ruyter continues to draw link between corruption and loadshedding in damp squib …

Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter continued to draw a direct link between corruption at the State-owned utility and ongoing loadshedding during his much-anticipated, but ultimately unsatisfactory, virtual appearance before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday. To the obvious frustration of committee members, De Ruyter declined to provide any new details regarding the startling allegations he first made during a television interview in February.
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Loadshedding downgraded for long weekend

Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 today until 05:00 on Thursday, Eskom announced. Thereafter, load shedding will be progressively reduced until it reaches Stage 1 by Sunday.
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