South Africa positioned well to leverage the benefits of a hydrogen economy

South Africa has an ideal opportunity, and is well positioned, to leverage the potential of the emerging hydrogen economy and establish an integrated value chain. Amid global hydrogen economy conversations, South Africa has been working to create enabling policies and create an enabling environment for a hydrogen economy to thrive, a Creamer Media-hosted Hydrogen Economy webinar participants heard on Wednesday.
/by

SolarBot device mitigates growing issue of unoptimised solar systems

Home energy management company Plentify says its partnership with solar and electrical solutions installer Herholdts to distribute its SolarBot devices in South Africa, has helped customers to gain the maximum efficiency and cost savings from their solar systems.

With solar installation interest having stagnated since loadshedding was suspended in April, Plentify is driving the adoption of its SolarBot technology on the back of significant cost-savings that users can realise from fully using solar capacity and optimally discharging batteries.

/by

The biggest obstacle to renewable energy in Africa? Red tape, AOW delegates hear

The key problems in implementing renewable energy in Africa (including South Africa) are regulatory, participants in a panel discussion at Africa Oil Week (AOW) reported, on Wednesday. AOW is being held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The issues were not so much the amount of regulatory compliance needed but, what was often much more serious, the dilatoriness of government departments in processing applications and issuing authorisations. South African black-owned renewable (mainly wind) energy company Seriti Green CEO Peter Venn reported that it could take anything from six to 16 years in South Africa from the acquisition of a site to the start of construction of a wind farm. The company currently had five projects spread across four South African provinces (plus projects in East Africa), worth billions of rands.
/by

Cost-competitiveness to underpin surge in global renewables roll-out to 2030 – IEA

Led by solar PV, renewables are poised to transform electricity systems across the globe this decade, with the world on course to add more than 5 500 GW by 2030, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) ‘Renewables 2024’ report states. Such additions would increase global renewable electricity generation to over 17 000 TWh, which is roughly equal to the current combined electricity demand of China, the European Union, India and the US.
/by

France nears disbursement of second climate loan to South Africa

France is nearing the disbursement of a second loan to South Africa’s Treasury under the Just Energy Transition Partnership programme. “We are in the final stages of preparing a second loan,” adding to the €300 million ($329 million) it distributed about 18 months ago, David Martinon, France’s ambassador to South Africa, said in a speech in the town of eMalahleni, east of Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
/by

$21bn increase in off-grid solar investment needed to facilitate universal energy access

A $21-billion increase over current investment levels is required to realise the off-grid potential of solar power to contribute to universal energy access, according to the latest ‘Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report’ (MTR) 2024, published on October 8 by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) and the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (Gogla).  The report shows that investment into the off-grid solar sector reached a high of $1.2-billion during 2022/23 period, largely driven by debt financing. Under the current trajectory, 660-million people are projected to still be without electricity by 2030, and a six-fold increase in solar investment is required to resolve this issue.
/by

Zero Carbon Charge, AIDC-EC launch off-grid EV charger programme in the Eastern Cape

Zero Carbon Charge (Charge), in partnership with the Automotive Industry Development Centre Eastern Cape (AIDC-EC), and together with the Eastern Cape provincial government, has broken ground on what it describes as an off-grid, ultra-fast, green electric vehicle (EV) charging network. Once completed, the network in the Eastern Cape should consist of 29 sites, 18 of which will be dedicated to electric passenger and light commercial vehicles (LCVs), while 11 will be off-grid electric truck charging stations.
/by

Construction begins on Cape Town solar PV plant, battery storage tender released

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) has started construction on a R200-million, 7 MW solar PV plant, located in Atlantis, with the first electricity to be delivered by the end of next year. The tender for the engineering, procurement and construction of the plant has been awarded to the Lesedi Technoserve Consortium.
/by

Opinion: Non-profit gas aggregation imperative for South Africa

In this opinion article, Industrial Gas Users’ Association of Southern Africa CEO Jaco Human makes the case for pursuing gas aggregation on a non-profit basis, while also urging Eskom and Sasol to collaborate with industry in crafting a solution that is in the national interest.
/by

Ramokgopa convinced ‘sweet spot’ will be found to unlock Independent Power Transmission projects

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has expressed confidence that government and the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) are close to finding the “sweet spot” that will facilitate the integration of private Independent Power Transmission (IPT) projects. Such projects could help accelerate the expansion of the grid, which has emerged as a bottleneck for new renewables projects in particular, and help unlock 53 GW of mostly renewables generation in the coming ten years. In South Africa, IPT projects are also referred to as Independent Transmission Projects, or ITPs.
/by