Interest from IPPs aiming to connect renewables to grid surges to 133 GW

The latest edition of the South African Renewable Energy Grid Survey points to there being massive and growing interest from developers of solar PV, wind, battery and hybrid plants to connect to the South African grid. Published jointly by Eskom Holdings’ National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association and the South African Wind Energy Association, the survey shows there to be projects with a combined capacity of 133 GW at various stages of development across the country.
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AfriForum plans to have Nersa reimburse consumers over unlawful tariffs since July

The Gauteng High Court’s rejection of a leave to appeal application by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) related to proposed municipal tariff hikes, is a victory for municipal electricity consumers, civil rights organisation AfriForum says. Earlier this year, the same court ruled in AfriForum’s favour, confirming that Nersa’s decision to consider municipalities’ applications for tariff hikes without the required cost-of-supply studies was unlawful.
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Wärtsilä signs decarbonisation agreement for Madagascan power plant

The renewal of technology group Wärtsilä’s operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement with QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM), which is part of the Rio Tinto group, has been expanded to include a decarbonisation agreement. Wärtsilä says the agreement is a groundbreaking offering in the energy sector and allows for optimising all of the assets in the microgrid, including renewable-energy use, thereby not only reducing emissions but also producing notable cost savings.
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Wind bids fall well short of BW7 allocation, while PV bids far exceed provision

The Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) has confirmed that 48 onshore wind and solar PV bids with a combined capacity of 10 218 MW have been submitted under Bid Window Seven (BW7) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). The bids were submitted ahead of the August 15 deadline, which was postponed from an initial date of April 30, largely owing to grid-access-related delays.
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