Zambia’s biggest mines are turning to a surprising power source as the copper-producing nation battles an unprecedented energy crisis: South African electricity company Eskom Holdings, which until March faced its own severe deficit. An historic drought has stifled hydropower turbines that Zambia relies on for about 85% of supplies. Households have power for just three hours a day. And firms like First Quantum Minerals have had to look beyond the nation’s borders for electricity to keep their mines and smelters running.
Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is assembling a committee of experts to advise him on the role that nuclear could play in South Africa’s future supply before issuing a new Ministerial determination for the possible procurement of 2 500 MW of new nuclear capacity. He has also reiterated that any possible future procurement would arise only if it was deemed to be affordable and after a “credible” public consultation process, acknowledging that the two previous procurement attempts had been “soiled” by a lack of transparency and allegations of malfeasance.
Power utility Eskom says the Sheriff of the Court has successfully attached the Emfuleni municipality’s four bank accounts for Eskom to recover about R8-billion in arrear debt, ensuring that the money collected for electricity is paid directly to the utility. This follows the municipality’s failure to comply with the requirements of the National Treasury debt relief programme.
South Africa will need about 150 GW of renewable energy generation and associated transmission infrastructure by 2050, meaning it needs to build about 6 GW of renewable energy capacity each year. It currently has about 6.4 GW of renewable energy generation in operation, about 3 GW of embedded private renewable generation and about 9 GW of registered renewable energy projects, of which about 4 GW to 6 GW is under construction, speakers highlighted during a ‘South Africa’s Renewable Energy Investment Report Card’ webinar, hosted by Creamer Media, on September 11.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved another €100-million (R1.98-billion) loan in support of the Development Bank of Southern Africa’s (DBSA’s) Embedded Generation Investment Programme, which is supporting the development of private solar PV and wind projects in South Africa. The funding will be matched by the DBSA and is additional to the first €400-million (R7.9-billion) matching loan approved by both development finance institutions in 2022, increasing overall funding for the upscaling of small and medium-sized renewable-energy projects to €600-million (R11.9-billion).
Some of Zimbabwe’s biggest miners are seeking $182-million to develop 200 MW of locally-generated solar power, according to the head of the renewables company responsible for the projects. The agreement was signed between Grid Africa and the Intensive Energy User Group, whose members include Impala Platinum’s Zimbabwean unit, Tsingshan Holdings Group’s Afrochine Smelting and RioZim, among others.
The European Union (EU) has announced R628-million (€32-million) in grant funding to support the development of South Africa’s nascent green-hydrogen industry, as well as to facilitate net-zero-related investments across Transnet’s rail, port and pipeline operations, including to prepare them for the production and storage of green hydrogen. The grants are additional to the EU’s Just Energy Transition Partnership funding with South Africa and were confirmed by European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson at a briefing in Pretoria on Monday, where she also met South Africa’s Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau.
The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has announced that the official patron for the 2024 iteration of its flagship conference, Windaba, will be Energy and Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. This will be the second year in a row that he will attend Windaba. Windaba 2024, which also has the support of the Global Wind Energy Council, will run from October 1 to October 3. It will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, and will bring together wind energy professionals, academics, civil society representatives, government representatives (and particularly, policymakers).
Engie, the French utility that led a $1-billion buyout of a rival’s renewable energy assets in Africa last year, expects more deals to be seen in the industry across the continent. While focusing on integrating the assets it bought from Actis rather than seeking more acquisitions, Engie is looking to develop a pipeline of seven gigawatts of projects, said Mohamed Hoosen, the company’s managing director for Asia, Middle East and Africa. It may also invest in transmission projects in South Africa, once those are opened up for private participation, he said.
Germany is willing to help fund the R390-billion ($22-billion) that South Africa said it needs to incorporate more solar and wind power into the national grid and ensure its energy security. The European nation will be able to provide some funding once the scope for the grid-expansion project has been determined, according to its special envoy for a climate-finance pact between South Africa and some of the world’s richest countries. The deal, which was agreed in 2021 and is now worth $9.3-billion, has been criticized for its slow implementation.
INDUSTRY NEWS
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- RMB funded renewables projects worth R50bn last year and is gearing up for private grid prospectsSeptember 19, 2024 - 1:04 pm
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