Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the reasons for the extension of the bid submissions deadline for Bid Window 7 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, what this could mean for other procurement rounds and the anticipated outcome of Bid Window 7.
South Africa is facing a monumental challenge as it seeks to end years of rolling electricity outages that have hobbled the economy: It needs to build and fund a R390-billion expansion of the national grid so it can connect more power plants. The transmission system is owned, managed and maintained by Eskom, which supplies more than 80% of the country’s electricity and has failed to properly maintain its plants or expedite the process of building enough new ones to avert energy shortages. The State utility plans to build 14 218 kilometers of power lines over the the next decade, more than three times what it has installed over the past 10 years. It will also have to increase its transformer capacity six-fold and build other infrastructure.
Demand for drive solutions specialist SEW-EURODRIVE’s energy efficient product offering is currently strong and increasing steadily with end-users in the growing food and beverage industry and the original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that supply them, says SEW-EURODRIVE Cape Town branch manager Dwane Jacobs. The industry continues to grow with expanding population numbers creating greater demand for continuous production, requiring more energy efficient and reliable production lines to improve operating costs.
The creation of a formal public-private platform to assess solutions to a pending “gas cliff” for industrial consumers in South Africa points to the fact that the issue is finally being taken seriously by all stakeholders, Industrial Gas Users Association of South Africa (IGUA-SA) executive director Jaco Human tells Engineering News. The task team is being led by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and includes IGUA-SA and its members, as well as Eskom, the Central Energy Fund (CEF) and Sasol.
Shanghai-listed solar photovoltaic company Trina SOLAr, renewable energy project developer SOLA and civil engineering and construction company WBHO Construction will build the 135 MW Merak 1 SOLAr project to power a South African mining operation owned by African Rainbow Minerals (ARM). SOLA and WBHO formed a joint venture to execute the Merak 1 project and Trina Solar will supply 205 161 panels of its advanced Vertex modules for the project.
Although gas is widely regarded as a necessary part of South Africa’s future energy mix, Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) head of mitigation Steve Nicholls is not convinced that a reliable source of local gas supply will be brought to bear in time for the approaching “gas cliff”. The country is, therefore, likely to have to import gas from abroad at higher prices, he noted during a webinar on the role of gas in South Africa’s energy transition, hosted by Creamer Media on March 13.
Enel Green Power (EGP) South Africa has started construction of three new wind farms in the Eastern Cape, which will provide electricity to Air Liquide and Sasol in Secunda, Mpumalanga, through a wheeling framework agreement with Eskom. With a combined capacity of 330 MW, the Impofu East, Impofu West, and Impofu North projects will comprise 57 turbines, eight high-voltage substations, as well as 120 km of 132 kV high-voltage overhead electricity lines.
Given the impact of high interest rates across its local and international businesses, JSE-listed Growthpoint Properties expects its distributable income per share (DIPS) to decline by 10% to 12% for the financial year to end on June 30. Despite achieving “robust” operational results across its local and international investments for the six-month period to December 31 2023, high interest rates globally have impacted on property values, equity and debt markets, and capitalisation and discount rates.
The City of Cape Town has launched a new online application portal for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. More than 5 000 solar PV systems have been authorised to date, totalling 126 MVA, with monthly applications to the city tripling between 2021 and 2023.
South Africa’s central bank governor said on Wednesday that he was confident the country would be removed from an international financial crime watchdog’s “grey list” next year, given the work that is under way to fix identified issues. The International Financial Action Task Force (FATF) last year placed South Africa on a “grey list” of countries under special scrutiny over implementing standards to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.
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