Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George has promised “wide consultation” on South Africa’s next nationally determined contribution (NDC) decarbonisation pledge that will be lodged with the United Nations next year. Delivering his maiden Budget Vote, George stressed that South Africa remained a responsible global citizen and committed to the multilateral rules-based regime under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement.
With the African continent being home to the majority of the 700-million people worldwide with no access to electricity and clean cooking technology, energy investment in the region is deemed imperative for industrialisation and universal access to electricity, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has said. The bank hosted delegates from various African countries at the Continental Energy Investment Forum, in Johannesburg, on July 15, during which it pointed out that about 43% of Africa’s population lacks access to reliable electricity.
South Africa’s National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) board has approved a 20-year life extension for Koeberg Unit 1, but has deferred a decision on the nuclear power station’s Unit 2 until late 2025, owing to the fact that an assessment of the second reactor’s safety case is still ongoing. The decision, which was announced on July 15, came only days ahead of the July 21, 2024 expiry of Unit 1’s existing licence and effectively extended its operating life until July 21, 2044.
The carbon intensity of our economy has become unsustainable, President Cyril Ramaphosa writes in his latest weekly newsletter, published ahead of his address to a climate finance symposium being hosted jointly by the National Treasury and the Presidential Climate Commission. Ramaphosa notes that the world is moving towards greener economies and that a number of South Africa’s major trading partners are also taking measures to decarbonise that will affect the competitiveness of the country’s exports to these markets.
Electromechanical equipment manufacturer Actom, which has manufactured its first 66 kV transformer, says it plans to supply small high-voltage (HV) power transformers in Africa, as part of plans to expand into more African countries. HV transformers are typically used in the electricity transmission and generation sector, while lower-voltage units are mainly used on the distribution side.
Talks of alternative energy technology and fuels have increased in frequency and prominence among stakeholders in the transport industry, with both the public and private sectors having made commitments to decarbonise transport.
For public entities responsible for ensuring viable public transport, the question of transitioning to alternative fuels is now a pertinent one, consultancy Zutari senior transport economist Marco Steenkamp said during a presentation at the Southern African Transport Conference on July 10.
The South African mining industry continues to be a key contributor to the fiscus, with local producers and suppliers paying about R14-billion in royalties and R90-billion in taxes in the year ended December 31, 2023, and investing billions of rands in environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. In its integrated annual review for the year, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane says mining stakeholders continue to strive for meaningful impact in the lives of employees and communities in South Africa, particularly as the country grapples with low economic growth and unemployment.
The Cape Town Market in Epping has started the commissioning of a battery energy storage and demand management system (DMS). The commissioning of the 3 MWh system follows the installation of more than 3 000 solar panels with a 1.4 MWh output.
With traditional public mass transportation changing and more mobility alternatives arising, University of Johannesburg researcher and lecturer Mpho Gololo has suggested electric bicycles, or e-bikes, as a viable solution for certain use cases.
In a paper presented at the Southern African Transport Conference, on July 10, he said there was a great need to lower the carbon footprint of transportation in the country, which may be achieved by combining multiple modes of mobility and the electrification of transport.
Mainstream Renewable Power has hired Rothschild & Co to find an investor for its pipeline of South African renewable energy projects, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Japan’s Mitsui & Co.-backed group, with about 12 gigawatts of solar and wind projects in development in the most industrialized nation on the continent, seeks a joint venture partner for its South African business, said the people, who asked not be be identified as the information is still private. The size of the stake has yet to be determined, one of the people said.
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