Opinion: The grid’s the thing

In this opinion article, Mike Levington argues that using renewable energy to meet South Africa’s economic and developmental goals will require a significant shift in thinking about the grid.
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Affirma, Norfund and KLP provide $145m for CEC to build additional capacity

Private equity firm Affirma Capital, development finance institution Norfund and Norwegian pension fund Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP) have invested $145-million in Zambian independent power producer and transmission company Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC). The aim is to build on CEC’s success by strengthening its leadership in the Africa decarbonisation programme, building additional renewable capacity, extending access to power in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and helping CEC to play a role in the liberalisation and evolution in the electricity market in Southern Africa, the companies say.
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South Africa’s new energy plan is ‘shoddy’ and will probably fail – analysts

South Africa’s new energy generation plan lacks detail and leaves many unanswered questions, according to some energy analysts. The long-awaited draft of the Integrated Energy Plan (IRP) of 2023 was gazetted for public comment this week.
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Eskom ends grid access for Karpowership

Eskom Holdings said it will no longer reserve the transmission capacity it had agreed to set aside for winners of a South African tender for emergency power provision that didn’t meet a Dec. 31 deadline to complete their financial arrangements. The decision is a blow for Karpowership, the Turkish provider of ship-mounted power plants, and further reduces the likely impact the 2021 program will have in making a dent in the almost daily power outages that are crippling South Africa’s economy.
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