Bushveld delivers record production despite loadshedding; electrolyte plant construction on track

Integrated primary vanadium producer and energy storage solutions provider Bushveld Minerals produced a record 3 842 t of vanadium in the 12 months to December 31 and has set its production guidance for this year at between 4 200 t and 4 500 t of vanadium. Although production in 2022 was higher than the 3 592 t produced in 2021, output was slightly below the company’s revised guidance range of 3 900 t to 4 100 t as loadshedding resulted in about 200 t of lost production at Bushveld’s Vanchem processing facility, in Mpumalanga.
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Ramaphosa says govt looking into State of Disaster to tackle energy crisis

As economically-crippling loadshedding continues unabated across the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa has revealed that government is going through to motions of establishing whether a National State of Disaster could be declared to alleviate power cuts. Speaking at the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) National Executive Committee lekgotla in Johannesburg on Monday, Ramaphosa acknowledged widespread calls for a State of Disaster from various sectors.  
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Temporary Kusile stacks set to bypass FGD for a year while remediation works are completed

Eskom reports that it is currently expecting to operate temporary stacks on the three Kusile units – which have been inoperable since October 23 when the Unit 1 flue duct failed in a way that also compromised the Unit 2 and 3 flue ducts – for about a year while permanent remediation works are carried out. The temporary stacks will bypass the flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) system and Eskom is, therefore, preparing to seek an exemption from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) in order to allow it to operate the units without using the air-pollution control system.
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Ramaphosa affirms Nersa’s independence in setting tariffs, but still calls for mitigation solution

President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged that tariffs that reflect the cost of producing electricity are necessary for Eskom’s financial sustainability, as well as for the utility to service its debt and to undertake the critical maintenance needed to end loadshedding. Writing in his weekly newsletter he also affirmed the independence of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in setting such tariffs using a prescribed process, which includes public consultation, as well as the “importance of following the due legal process in setting tariffs”.
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Omnia turns on the first phase of its 10 MW solar farm in Sasolburg 

JSE-listed chemicals company Omnia on January 27 unveiled the 5 MW Phase 1 solar power plant at its Sasolburg operations, in the Free State, followed immediately by a sod-turning ceremony to mark the start of construction on an additional 5 MW power plant.  This second phase of the solar power plant, which will bring the total capacity up to 10 MW, will be completed by September, Omnia manufacturing MD Francois Visagie said at the event. 
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Yellen says South African coal communities need $3.5bn

South Africa has identified more than R60-billion of investments needed to help communities in the coal-mining Mpumalanga province as the industry gradually winds down, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said as she announced an additional $45-million in grant support. The investments form part of a 1.5 trillion-rand government blueprint to reduce South Africa’s reliance on coal, which is currently used to generate more than 80% of its electricity. A group of rich countries are backing that program, known as the Just Energy Transition Plan, with $8.5-billion in climate finance in the form of concessional loans, debt guarantees and grants. The US is providing more than $1-billion.
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Yellen positive on cap talks after EU floats Russia diesel price

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she’s confident that discussions aimed at extending restrictions on the sale of Russian petroleum products will be concluded within an approaching deadline that coincides with new European Union sanctions against Moscow. “We’re in the middle of discussions with all of our partners,” Yellen told reporters Friday while travelling in South Africa. “But I am encouraged we will be able to come to agreement by February 5.”
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Breather from Stage 4 loadshedding from Saturday

Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Saturday morning, after which it will be reduced to Stage 3, Eskom said on Friday.  Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented nightly from 16:00 – 05:00 on Saturday and Sunday, while Stage 2 loadshedding will kick in from 05:00 – 16:00 on Sunday.
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Local energy storage company marks success by opening new, enlarged, facility

South African stationary energy storage battery systems company Blue Nova Energy officially opened its new combined head office and assembly facility in Somerset West, near Cape Town, on Friday. The company produces a range of systems based on lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4 for short) batteries and has to expand its facilities to meet growing demand, both in the domestic and export (especially, but not exclusively, other African) markets. The company is focused on serving customers who need to …
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Roadmap sets out the critical skills South Africa needs for a just energy transition

The South African National Energy Association (Sanea), together with the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), has launched an ‘Energy Skills Roadmap’ for South Africa, highlighting the requisite human capacity skills to deliver the technical energy solutions and socioeconomic improvements needed for a just energy transition.

The roadmap is informed by research, gap analysis and stakeholder engagement workshops having been undertaken in earnest since 2020 by Sanea, Wits’ Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL) and Wits Business School’s African Energy Leadership Centre.

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