Bezos-backed group to prepare South African grids for investment

A global organisation backed by Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos’ climate and biodiversity fund said it’s setting up a programme to attract investment into South African municipal power grids, which need R319-billion to prepare for the introduction of more renewable energy. The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, or Geapp, will work alongside partners to prepare projects for investment to repair and upgrade dilapidated grids, said Ziyad Cassim, the group’s South African country representative.
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Transparent solar glass for generating power from building facades launched in South Africa

Through a collaboration between Australian glass solar technology developer ClearVue and local technology distributor Concept Business Solutions, a novel transparent glass solar panel technology for use in building facades has been launched in South Africa. Concept Business Solutions will be the licensed distributor of the ClearVue technology in South Africa, which will be branded as ClearPV locally.
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SANEA to host inaugural leadership conference in November

The South African National Energy Agency (SANEA) will host its inaugural leadership conference at the Gallagher Convention Centre, in Midrand, in November as the organisation marks its centenary. Convened under the theme of ‘Transform – Energising Progress: Transformative Leadership for a sustainable future’, the two-day event will also include a SANEA Centenary Celebration on November 6 and the SANEA Awards Breakfast on November 7.
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Zambian copper mines desperate for power find an unlikely saviour

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.
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Ramokgopa to seek advice from team of experts before taking next nuclear steps

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.
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Emfuleni municipality’s bank accounts attached for Eskom to recover R8bn debt

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.
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South Africa set for massive changes as energy market pivots, renewable energy grows

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.
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EIB, DBSA increase funding for private renewables projects to R11.9bn

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).
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Zimbabwe’s biggest miners seek $182m for solar projects

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.
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R628m in EU grants to support South Africa’s goal of building green-hydrogen ecosystem

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.
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