No new wind turbines connected to South Africa’s grid in 2022 – GWEC

Despite intense power disruptions, no new wind turbines were connected to South Africa’s grid in 2022, the Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC’s) latest report has confirmed. In 2021, South Africa recorded 668 MW of new wind installations, up from 515 MW in 2020, which increased the country’s overall installed base to 3 442 MW.
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CSIR energy storage testbed to support local battery value chain

A newly established Indoor Energy Storage Testbed equips the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to test the performance and reliability of lithium-ion batteries, as expressed by their storage capacity, lifecycle and depth of discharge. This will help build capacity in the South African battery industry, as lower-capacity clients, such as small and medium-sized enterprises, manufacturers and importers, will have access to indoor testbed facilities and overall market knowledge can be improved, the CSIR states.
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FNB launches new energy-related loan products for the middle class

Financial services company FNB has announced low-cost energy solutions for consumers ranging from R149 a month. Customers will have access to range of alternative energy and back-up power solutions on the FNB mobile application (app) and can pay for these over a 24-month period.   The service, which was revealed on March 27, is enabled through FNB Connect, with the bank promising customers would soon receive preapproved offers for these options too.  
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Loadshedding won’t be ended ‘through an act of God’, says electricity minister

Newly appointed Electricity Minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa visited the Lethabo Power Station in the Free State last week. He said Lethabo had been the first power station he visited last week that was performing well. 
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China Energy proposes $1bn floating solar farm In Zimbabwe

China Energy Engineering Group proposed building a 1 000 MW floating solar farm for Zimbabwe, a nearly $1-billion project, on the world’s largest man-made lake. More than 1.8 million photovoltaic panels installed over 146 modular floating units would be used for the project on Lake Kariba if it went ahead, according to an official report that was prepared for the state’s power utility and potential private equity funders by the company and seen by Bloomberg. The civil engineering works would cost $186-million and installation $801-million, according to China Energy.
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Sasol succession plan in place as CEO’s term set to end in 2024

Sasol said it has a plan in place to find a successor for CEO Fleetwood Grobler, whose term of running South Africa’s biggest publicly traded company by revenue will end next year. The board’s nomination and governance committee started a “process to identify a suitable successor” to Grobler in 2022, chairperson Sipho Nkosi said in an emailed response to questions. The company will announce the new CEO in the first half of 2024, he said.
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Absa announces net-zero emissions targets for 2050

Financial services firm Absa has announced that its long-term ambition is to reach net-zero by 2050 for Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse-gas emissions. It has also committed to setting near- and long-term Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction targets and having these targets validated by private sector climate action organisation the Science-Based Targets initiative.
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Opinion: Funding social justice in the energy transition, a role for private sector financing …

In the executive summary of a new report, commissioned by the African Climate Foundation, Intellidex writes that the status quo is not fit for purpose to support the financing of the social justice issues in the Just Energy Transition required and more innovative thinking on structures, institutions and combinations of capital flows are required urgently to generate the kinds of scales of financing for transition projects across mitigation, adaptation and resilience.
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Opinion: The role of electric vehicles in SA’s energy transition

In this opinion article, South African National Energy Development Institute CEO Dr Titus Mathe writes about the role of electric vehicles in South Africa’s energy transition. 
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DA says Ramokgopa’s ‘reckless remarks’ will reverse energy gains

The Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Kevin Mileham said on Friday that Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s remarks, which suggest there is no urgency to unbundle Eskom, spread further uncertainty among investors with stakes in independent power generation projects across the country. Mileham says South Africa needs clear direction and policy certainty during a crippling energy crisis.
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