With technological advancements vastly improving within the lighting sector, lighting manufacturer Spazio has begun to integrate solar, AI and LED technologies into its light fittings. Spazio marketing manager Moynene Bredenkamp says that solar lighting technology has seen massive improvements over the last few years, which has made it a popular choice as an exterior domestic application in South Africa.
A second round of economic reforms under Operation Vulindlela, together with green industrialisation and scaled-up infrastructure development have been placed at the centre of the Government of National Unity’s (GNU’s) agenda for driving inclusive growth and job creation, which President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined in his opening of Parliament address on Thursday night. Speaking 50 days after highly competitive elections where no single party secured an outright majority and days after the new members of the expanded executive met at a Cabinet lekgotla to agree on priorities for a GNU that includes ten political parties, Ramaphosa announced that inclusive economic growth had been placed at “the top of the national agenda”.
Independent power producer Engie has broken ground on the construction of the 75 MW Grootspruit solar PV power plant, which is being built and will be operated in partnership with Pele Green Energy. Grootspruit, in the Free State, is one of two PV power plants to be built by Engie as part of Bid Window 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
Eskom has lodged a surprise objection to the issuance of licences to private traders in areas where its distribution entity currently holds a licence, arguing that the current rules of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) prohibit two or more licensees supplying the same area. The objection was made during virtual Nersa hearings being held to consider the granting of generation, trading, as well as import-export licences to various entities, including Discovery Green, CBi Electric Apollo, Green Electron Market and Africa GreenCo.
International environmental movement 350Africa! said on Thursday that for Africa to realise a just transition to renewable energy, significant investment from financial institutions and developed nations is essential and urgent. 350Africa! senior Africa organiser Rukiya Khamis was speaking the launch of REPower Afrika, a movement aimed at uniting regional community renewable-energy projects to urge financiers and governments to prioritise and increase investments in affordable and clean energy. Khamis highlighted that African governments must create an enabling framework, enacting policies and regulations that facilitate the deployment of renewable energy and attract substantial investments. 350Africa! global campaigns director Agnes Appiah-Hall highlighted that the main barrier to renewable energy across Africa was finance. “For the sources of finance, we must turn to the rich countries and corporations that have exploited African countries for fossil fuels and have imposed huge amounts of historical debt to drive their own prosperity within rich nations, with no regard for the development or harmful impacts on communities within Africa itself,” she said.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana reports that the National Treasury is working on signing memoranda of agreement in the transport and water sectors with the goal of fast-tracking private sector participation. Delivering his Budget Vote, the Minister said that the agreements would be similar to the one that governs the Independent Power Producers Office (IPPO).
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced the successful auction of R36-million in carbon credits, generated by reducing gas emissions at city landfill sites via waste-to-energy initiatives. The funds will be ring-fenced for urban waste management projects aimed at reducing pollution and improving environmental health within the city.
While proclaiming industrial policy to be the “centre piece” of the government of national unity’s economic development strategy, new Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau indicated he would be leaning on local procurement to create early-stage demand in targeted sectors. In his maiden Budget Vote address to Parliament, attended by his predecessor Ebrahim Patel, Tau said industrial policy was the anchor around which the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) would deploy trade instruments, incentives, tools and regulation, including any support for new energy vehicle production and green industrialisation.
Energy company Energy Partners (EP) has successfully delivered a 3.2 MW, 3.1 MWh hybrid power project for the Futuregrowth Community Property Fund- (Comprop-) owned Heidelberg Mall, in Gauteng. The company says this project ensures all-day uninterrupted power, significantly reducing total electricity expenditure and offering a compelling value proposition for retail tenants.
Five development finance institutions have banded together to find a way to develop the world’s biggest electricity-generation project, the planned Grand Inga hydropower complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo that’s been stalled for decades. The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Industrial Development Corporation, both South African State banks, are working with pan-African institutions — the African Development Bank and African Export-Import Bank — as well as the New Development Bank, the finance arm of the BRICS groups of nations.
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