Cast and machined components supplier Autocast South Africa is the first of more than 30 of Nelson Mandela Bay’s largest electricity users to benefit from a renewable power supply deal with electricity trading company Etana Energy. “This was borne out of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber’s (NMBBC) Renewable Energy Cluster, which brought together some of the highest energy users in the Bay around two years ago to find a common solution for procuring clean power. After going through a rigorous selection process, Etana Energy was selected as the preferred renewable electricity supplier.
Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), whose members include the largest domestic and foreign companies operating in South Africa, has added its voice to a growing chorus of opposition to the draft Integrated Resource Plan 2023 (IRP 2023) and has called for it to be “revised immediately”. Writing in her weekly newsletter, CEO Busisiwe Mavuso said no good case had been built for the assumptions in the IRP 2023 and warned that the document was “tainting” the positive news associated with reduced levels of loadshedding, which she attributed to the Energy Action Plan and the collaboration between government and business.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has launched South Africa’s third public procurement round for utility-scale batteries, while also extending the bid submission deadline for Bid Window Two (BW2) of the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP) launched in December, and naming a fifth preferred bidder from BW 1. In a statement, the department said the BESIPPPP BW3 request for proposals was seeking bidders for 616 MW/2 464 MWh of battery projects by July 31 for five pre-selected substation sites.
China has a unique opportunity to drive forward an energy revolution in Africa, but it must first reverse nearly two decades of neglect of green power investments there, research from Boston University showed on Tuesday. Beijing has emerged as the continent’s biggest bilateral trading partner since the start of the century and has financed billions of dollars worth of large-scale infrastructure projects.
Power utility Eskom has confirmed that it will implement electricity price increases, as approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), from April 1. The utility in October 2023 applied to Nersa for the approval of its Retail Tariff and Structural Adjustment Application and the schedule of tariffs for the period from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has tabled a R76.4-billion draft budget for the city for the 2024/25 financial year. The budget proposes record infrastructure investment of R12.1-billion for the year, and nearly R40-billion over the next three years.
Cabinet approved the publication of the long-awaited Gas Master Plan for public comment during what was the last formal meeting of the executive ahead of the May 29 election. However, Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni indicated that special Cabinet meetings could still be convened should the need arise. The master plan, Ntshavheni said, was supportive of government’s commitment to diversifying the country’s energy mix away from coal-fired power plants.
Despite record renewable-energy installations of 473 GW last year, the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) says the pace of deployment remains well below that needed to match the global goal of tripling capacity by 2030. In addition, the geographic distribution of new investment was highly uneven, with Africa lagging in particular. The ‘Renewable Capacity Statistics 2024’ report states that the installed renewables base climbed 13.9% to 3 870 GW in 2023, underpinned by solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, which surged by 32.2%, or 346 GW.
Coal phase-out campaign the Life After Coal Campaign, in its comments on the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2023, said the plan has fundamental flaws and expressed skepticism in the plan’s ability to ensure cost-effective electricity supply, energy security and to uphold the Constitutional right to live in a healthy environment. “The IRP 2023 does not, in real terms, commit to a least-cost pathway and instead opts for expensive technology and fuel choices. This will perpetuate energy poverty, and make essential services for poor communities even more unaffordable and impact on local economies,” said environmental justice organisation Earthlife Africa director Makoma Lekalakala.
The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) questions both the cost assumptions used for the technology in the draft Integrated Resource Plan 2023 (IRP 2023), as well as the 900 MW yearly build limit placed on distributed solar in its formal submission to the department. SAPVIA’s response, which was submitted ahead of the March 23 deadline for public comments, states that the technology cost assumptions for solar PV have been inaccurately estimated for Horizon 1 to 2030 (The draff IRP 2023 also includes Horizon 2 from 2030 to 2050).
INDUSTRY NEWS
- Ramokgopa seeks to strike ‘delicate balance’ on Eskom tariffs, labelling mooted hikes …September 19, 2024 - 7:04 pm
- AfriForum continues fighting Nersa’s latest appeal in municipal tariff matterSeptember 19, 2024 - 5:00 pm
- IBM develops two new models for energy sector forecastingSeptember 19, 2024 - 1:04 pm
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