Energy grid impedes excess power transmission

South Africa’s current electricity transmission grid is generally constrained in the Cape provinces and unable to facilitate the connection of new utility-scale generation including that from solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind, says wind and solar energy facility developer JUWI Renewable Energies. Historically, the majority of South Africa’s electricity supply was provided by coal power stations, the majority located in Mpumalanga, with the power transmitted to the major load centres including those in the Cape. The national transmission grid is still set up in this way, despite the introduction of large-scale renewables, as the cost and time to upgrade this infrastructure is onerous.
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Kenyan plant to be enhanced

Japan-based energy and power generation company Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS) announced last month that it had received an order from SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Company for steam turbines and generators for the geothermal power plant equipment renovation of units one through three at the old 45 MW Olkaria I geothermal power plant in Kenya. Toshiba ESS, in last month’s press release, noted that the equipment is set to be shipped to site by December 2025.
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Private renewables procurement may mitigate boom-bust cycles curbing South Africa’s green …

The combination of public and private procurement of large-scale renewables in South Africa signals increased stability for manufacturers of key components, a new GreenCape report argues. Published ahead of the release of the much-anticipated South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM), which will outline the country’s official approach to localising renewables value chains, GreenCape’s ‘Large-scale Renewable Energy’ report forecast that there will be about 32 GW of installed renewables capacity in South Africa by 2030.
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South Africa needs 13 GW of gas-to-power capacity – more than the IRP envisions

Standard Bank head of Southern Africa’s oil and gas coverage Paul Eardley-Taylor has suggested that South Africa needs 13 GW of gas-to-power (GtP) capacity, rather than the 7.2 GW to 8.6 GW outlined in the draft Integrated Resource Plan 2023. Speaking at mine ventilation solutions developer Howden’s Technology Day, hosted at Mintek, in Johannesburg, on April 17, he explained that this calculation was made by considering the need to overcome Stage 6 or even Stage 7 loadshedding, when Stage 6 was being regularly achieved, as well as ensure a 15% reserve margin for winter peak demand.
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Joburg Water showcases its reservoirs

Johannesburg Water has showcased some of the various reservoirs and systems that supply the City of Johannesburg with water. The water utility also outlined the challenges in operating the systems that feed the economic hub with the critical resource. Natasha Odendaal has the story.
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VW Africa laments power outages in ECape; Patel says Electricity Minister is tackling the problem

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWA) last week suffered four power outages at its Kariega plant, says VWA MD and chairperson Martina Biene. This happened while there was no loadshedding scheduled for the Eastern Cape.
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Eskom says modest R9m RCA request not a signal of alignment with Nersa on calculations

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has initiated consultations on Eskom’s latest Regulatory Clearing Account (RCA) application for the 2022/23 financial year, where Eskom is requesting R9-million, its lowest RCA application since the utility began making yearly submissions under the claw-back mechanism. Given that the amount is less than 2% of Eskom’s allowable revenue for the year, Nersa is not required to undertake public hearings. Nevertheless, a consultation document has been published, with virtual hearings scheduled for August 2 and 4 and a decision expected by December 2.
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Stage 16 loadshedding code seeks to reduce human error not signal imminent surge in cuts – Nersa

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has belatedly moved to quell concern that its recent approval of a new loadshedding code of practice, which increases the number of potential stages from eight to 16, represented a signal that the prospect for higher levels of loadshedding was imminent. Following extensive public consultations undertaken by the National Rationalised Specifications (NRS) Association of South Africa, the third edition of the NRS048-9 standard was approved by the regulator for use by Eskom and municipal system operators during times of electricity constraint.
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ABB becomes minority investor in GridBeyond

Technology company ABB has joined investors EDP, ESB, TotalEnergies, Act and DublinBIC in becoming an investor in energy management solutions company GridBeyond, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and data science to enable customers to improve distributed energy resources and industrial loads. The investment was made through ABB’s Technology Ventures unit.
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South Africa’s ranking in World Energy Trilemma Index falls

South Africa has fallen to sixty-ninth from sixty-fourth on the World Energy Council’s (WEC’s) latest World Energy Trilemma Index which ranks more than 100 countries against the three key dimensions of energy security, equity, and environmental sustainability. The index is included in the ‘World Energy Trilemma 2024’ report, released on April 16, and which is topped by Denmark and Sweden, with Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo at the bottom of the standings.
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