Electricity and Energy Deputy Minister Samantha Graham-Maré reports that the long-awaited South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) is currently wending its way through the Cabinet Committee process and has expressed optimism that it should be adopted “within the month”. Speaking during a EE Business Intelligence Webinar, Graham-Maré acknowledged that the approval process had been awaited for more than two years and said she was adamant that it now needed to be signed off.
Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec has started commercial operation of the first 60 MW of the 120 MW Mmadinare Solar Cluster, in Botswana.

The power plant is Scatec’s first installation in the country.

Renewable energy independent power producer (IPP) Red Rocket has reached financial close on the first 242-MW phase of the Overberg Wind Farm, being built near Swellendam in the Western Cape. The project, which is expected to begin commercial operations in early 2027, will deliver an estimated 750 GWh yearly of wheeled electricity to the Rio Tinto Group’s Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is holding off on decisions to finance the $760-million Ruzizi III hydropower plant in Central Africa, due to fighting between Rwandan-backed rebels and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a spokesperson said. Europe is ramping up pressure on the adversaries following January’s blitzkrieg by Congolese rebels that saw them overrun the strategic cities of Goma and Bukavu, attacks condemned by African leaders and Western countries.