A consortium led by Nelson Mandela University and boutique consultancy firm Ikigai Group has won a UK Government grant under the South Africa-UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (Pact) programme to deliver an innovative feasibility study to explore the viability of green hydrogen production and export infrastructure from the Eastern Cape to global markets, including the UK, Europe and Japan. The consortium will be working with the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) in support of South Africa’s wider development and just energy transition plans.
Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa describes surplus electricity arising from existing renewable energy facilities as “low hanging fruit” in improving the supply-demand balance and reports that discussions are under way to assess ways to make this energy available to the grid. Speaking during a regular update on the Energy Action Plan, Ramokgopa confirmed that the issue, which had been under consideration for years, had again been raised with him by the leadership of Scatec during his recent visit to the group’s Kenhardt solar-battery facility in the Northern Cape.
Energy solutions company Kili Energy is spearheading a large-scale initiative, the Kili Energy Clean Energy Democratisation Project, to provide smart liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) canisters and stoves, smart solar systems and novel hydrogen-powered stoves to 3.51-million indigent households in eThekwini, Tshwane, Cape Town, Johannesburg, the OR Tambo district municipality and Nelson Mandela Bay. The aim of the project is to provide energy liberation for townships and other indigent households, while simultaneously contributing to the decarbonisation of the country’s electricity supply.
With the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) currently scheduled to be operationalised in July and efforts under way to ensure that the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA) Amendment Bill is passed by the current Parliament, work is now advancing on the market code for the future multimarket architecture that will progressively replace the vertically integrated structure that has prevailed for over a century. Eskom transmission MD Segomoco Scheppers will lead the NTCSA once it begins trade after addressing the remaining Companies Act requirements, having already met the key conditions of board independence, licensing and lender consent.
A new process being pioneered by energy companies such as Israel-based Helios and Netherlands-based Alkalium proposes the use of sodium metal rather than coal or hydrogen to refine iron-ore into direct reduced iron (DRI). Traditionally, iron is beneficiated by mixing iron-ore fines with coal. The iron oxide (Fe2O3), when heated in a furnace, undergoes a chemical transformation whereby the oxygen molecules from the Fe2O3 bind with the carbon molecules in the coal, creating carbon dioxide (CO2) as a by-product and leaving pure iron behind.
Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses South Africa’s plans to stimulate local manufacturing around solar, wind and batteries.
Electrical and digital specialist Legrand avers that its track busway system is an efficient and flexible alternative to traditional power distribution systems that lack flexibility in adapting to changes. Legrand states that a reliable and flexible power distribution system is an essential element in the manufacturing, industrial and commercial sectors, where facilities require upgrades to enhance energy efficiency and optimise productivity.
With its experience in Africa and its agility in executing projects rapidly, electrical equipment supplier Trafo Power Solutions is supplying three mini-substations and two transformers to a copper/zinc mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Trafo Power Solutions MD David Claassen states that the “pressure was on” from early in the planning stages to ensure this critical equipment was available on time – to facilitate the continued mine expansion.
South Africa’s current electricity transmission grid is generally constrained in the Cape provinces and unable to facilitate the connection of new utility-scale generation including that from solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind, says wind and solar energy facility developer JUWI Renewable Energies. Historically, the majority of South Africa’s electricity supply was provided by coal power stations, the majority located in Mpumalanga, with the power transmitted to the major load centres including those in the Cape. The national transmission grid is still set up in this way, despite the introduction of large-scale renewables, as the cost and time to upgrade this infrastructure is onerous.
Japan-based energy and power generation company Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS) announced last month that it had received an order from SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Company for steam turbines and generators for the geothermal power plant equipment renovation of units one through three at the old 45 MW Olkaria I geothermal power plant in Kenya. Toshiba ESS, in last month’s press release, noted that the equipment is set to be shipped to site by December 2025.
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