The Shoprite retail group has started wheeling renewable electricity at its home office in Brackenfell, Cape Town, making it the company’s third site to implement this energy solution. Wheeling involves the buying and selling of electricity between private parties, using an existing grid to transport power from where it is generated to an end-user.
The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) is cautioning that South Africa may miss its 2030 decarbonisation target in light of a decision to further delay the decommissioning of three aged coal power stations and if new clean sources are not introduced in line with the country’s electricity generation roadmap. The warning is contained in the commission’s inaugural ‘South African State of Climate Action’ report, released on July 25.
Sub-Saharan Africa offers a $193-billion opportunity to invest in renewable energy and transmission by 2031, with returns a multiple of those in Europe and the US, according to a new study. Utility-scale wind, solar, storage and transmission projects across a number of African countries may yield an internal rate of return of 15% to 21%, significantly above the cost of capital and yields on sovereign bonds, the study compiled by Wood Mackenzie showed. Returns in the US and Europe are a little more than 5%.
Standard Bank reports that it has provided funding to South African decentralised electricity projects with a combined capacity of more than 500 MW over the past two years, following regulatory changes allowing such projects to proceed without a licence. Operation Vulindela, which oversaw the regulatory reforms, reported that the pipeline of private renewables projects currently stood at 22 500 MW and that efforts were being made to remove the grid-related bottlenecks to unlocking further investment.
Independent power producer (IPP) developers are currently generating lower returns on renewable-energy projects at about 11%, making it challenging for banks and institutions to provide finance, said Thebe Investment Corporation power and infrastructure GM Johann Bester. He introduced this problem statement to a panel of experts during the Coal & Energy Transition Industry Day on July 23, adding that some banks are not participating in Bid Window 7 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme because the returns are simply too low.
The Port of Richards Bay, in KwaZulu-Natal, is progressing with planning for infrastructure and terminal investments aimed at consolidating its position as a bulk export hub for key minerals such as coal and chrome, while also diversifying its activities to include more containers, as well as the importation and storage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquid fuels. The developments are included in a masterplan and the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) estimates that investments of more than R30-billion will be required over the coming ten years to open up new berths, as well as to facilitate the relocation of the South African Navy from the Port of Durban to the Port of Richards Bay.
Although there has been a “slight” improvement year-on-year in terms of State-owned Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR’s) North Corridor performance, the beleaguered rail operator is “not out of the woods yet”, TFR north corridor acting managing executive Theo Johnson has said. “‘Slight improvement’ is a term that I would accept. We’re working on a lot of initiatives [in] the North Corridor, because that’s the biggest corridor in TFR, particularly for the export coal line . . . but we are not out of the woods. We have a long way to go,” he said at the 2024 Coal & Energy Transition Day, in Johannesburg, on July 24.
Eskom will replace its declining coal capacity with clean-energy options in line with country policy and the Just Energy Transition, Eskom GM for primary energy Dan Mashigo told participants at a conference on coal and the energy transition. Speaking on behalf of Eskom CEO Dan Marokane, Mashigo reported that the State-owned company had a 20 GW-plus generation project pipeline, including 6 GW of solar PV, 4 GW of hybrid wind-PV-battery projects, 4 GW of gas-to-power, 3 GW of nuclear and 3.5 GW of hydro, wind and battery storage.
Energy company Energy Partners has completed a project at property investment company Fairvest’s Metalbox skyscraper in Auckland Park, Johannesburg. The property now features a building-integrated PV (BIPV) system that generates up to 300 MWh/y. It is South Africa’s first solar facade skyscraper, Energy Partners says.
Energy demand growth is forecast to be among the highest levels this year and next, compared with the last two decades, the International Energy Agency (IEA) notes in its ‘Electricity Mid-Year Update’ report.
Solar PV technology alone is expected to account for half of the demand growth increases globally.
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