Demand for battery raw materials will outpace base-case supply for certain materials, requiring additional investment and leading to fear of shortages and price volatility, among other challenges, strategy and management consulting company McKinsey projects. The fast-growing demand for batteries, for example from the automotive and energy sectors, has caused unprecedented levels of investment by raw materials producers and battery manufacturers.
Billions of rand that South African municipalities owe Eskom are hindering the State-owned power utility’s plan to restructure and separate its distribution unit, according to chairperson Mteto Nyati. South Africa’s municipalities owed Eskom R95.4-billion by November as they struggle to collect revenue from customers and available funds are sometimes misappropriated after years of mismanagement.
In this opinion article, Alboricah Rathupetsane of Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Sustainability Transitions argues that South Africa’s Transmission Development Plan presents an industrialisation opportunity.
Namibia, one of the world’s largest uranium producers, is seeking investment from China in nuclear power to boost its role in the global push to clean energy.
“We want to add value to our uranium for the peaceful development of nuclear energy,” President Nangolo Mbumba said Monday during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is on a week-long visit to Africa.
The Ministry of Electricity and Energy has unveiled the preferred bidders for Bid Window 7 (BW 7) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), naming eight preferred bidders for projects with a combined contracted capacity of 1 760 MW.
Infinity Power Holding secured six projects, while Mulilo Renewable Project Developments and Scatec Solar Africa each won one. The projects will be located in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West and the Free State, representing investment of R31.4-billion.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has said that its evaluation of State-owned utility Eskom’s sixth multi-year price determination (MYPD6) revenue application is in progress, with a final decision expected by the end of January. The regulator attributed the timeline to an extended public hearing period, the volume of information received and the need for further clarification on certain aspects of the application.
Old Mutual Investment Group Namibia (OMIGNAM), Namibia’s largest asset manager, has partnered with renewable energy company Sturdee Energy Namibia and Namibian financial services company IJG to acquire a 51% stake in Alten Solar Power (Hardap), the biggest grid-tied solar PV power plant in Namibia. The shareholding, acquired from Alten RE Developments Africa , represents a milestone in expanding Namibia’s secondary market for renewable energy projects. In a joint statement on December 20, Sturdee and Old Mutual emphasised that the transaction aligned institutional investors, including funds co-managed by Old Mutual and IJG, with Namibia’s renewable energy and climate change goals. Among these funds is the Namibian Infrastructure Equity Investment Fund Trust, with the Government Institutions Pension Fund as a main investor.
Zimbabwe’s power-transmission company has invited bids for companies to install energy-storage units as part of measures to ease crippling energy shortages.
Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission & Distribution Co. wants battery-storage units installed on four sites that will provide at least three hours of 600 MW each in peak hours, it said in a statement in a government notice.
INDUSTRY NEWS
WHERE TO FIND US
Address
9 Yellow Street
Botshabelo Industrial Area
Botshabelo, Free State
Call / Email Us
Tel: +27 (0) 51 534 1651
Email: info@transfix.co.za
