Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses Eskom’s invitation to large electricity users to bid for 291 MW of solar electricity that it is preparing to build and trade and the questions this raises about fair competition given Eskom’s objections to traders.
Independent power company Globeleq and its project partner, energy supplier African Rainbow Energy, have reached financial close on the 153 MW/612 MWh Red Sands battery energy storage system (BESS) in South Africa. The project – which is located near Upington, Northern Cape – will span about 5 ha and supply electricity to State-owned electricity utility Eskom’s subsidiary National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), under a 15-year power purchase agreement.
Having been awarded preferred bidder status for the Haru battery energy storage system (BESS), Norwegian renewable energy systems company Scatec has been chosen as the preferred bidder for a total of 846 MW solar in the seventh round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). Located at the Leander substation sites – one of five that were identified by State-owned electricity utility Eskom – the Haru BESS project totalled 123 MW/492 MWh in the third bid window of the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP).
State-owned electricity utility Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station was recently licensed to operate its Unit 1 for another 20 years, with global consultancy SRK Consulting South Africa playing a role in updating the site investigation reports – specifically the Site Safety Report (SSR) required by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR). These studies were part of a range of updates undertaken by SRK, that need to be conducted every five to ten years, says SRK principal consultant Derry Holmes.
Solar power company Sungrow has launched its 1+X 2.0 next-generation split modular utility-scale inverter in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. This inverter, which was launched on August 21 at the Sungrow MEA PV and Electricity Storage Solutions (ESS) summit, in Dubai, in United Arab Emirates, is designed to improve flexibility, safety and cost efficiency for large-scale solar projects. The inverter was originally launched at the Global Renewable Energy Summit 2025 in Hefei, China, in April, whereafter it won the iF Design Award 2025, marking it as the first modular PV inverter ever to receive the award.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in a bid to improve alignment on the regulatory frameworks needed for the licensing and operation of petroleum, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and electricity infrastructure and facilities at the ports. “To ensure the effective implementation of the MoU, governance structures will be established through steering committees with workstreams, each with a specific focus on either technical, regulatory, or strategic aspects,” the entities said in a joint statement.
Japan will provide up to ¥25-billion ($169.42-million) in Samurai bond financing to Kenya, the East African country’s foreign minister Musalia Mudavadi said on Thursday. “This facility will strengthen our local vehicle assembly and parts manufacturing industry while also addressing electricity transmission and distribution losses, currently standing at about 23% of our national output,” Mudavadi said in a post on X.
Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) CEO-designate Tafadzwa Chibanguza says the prevailing uncertainty surrounding South Africa’s public procurement rules in relation to local content has emerged as a major obstacle to reigniting industrialisation on the back of the country’s large grid roll-out. In addition, he argues that the recently released request for proposals (RFP) for South Africa’s inaugural procurement of independent transmission projects (ITPs) is so heavily geared towards foreign investors that it could leave domestic capacity stranded.
Eskom says its recently published request for proposals (RFP) inviting large power users to bid for 291 MW of solar PV capacity that the State-owned entity is aiming to introduce in phases from the end of 2027 has been tailored to meet the growing demand of such customers for solutions that reduce their indirect carbon emissions. Successful bidders for what Eskom is calling its ‘Renewable Energy Offtake Programme’ will enter power purchase agreements (PPAs) of between five and 25 years, with the renewable electricity delivered in phases from multiple Eskom projects.
Licensed electricity trader Energy Exchange of Southern Africa (EXSA) describes its recently concluded 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Seriti Green as a major milestone in positioning the company as a sizeable “pure-play” trader ahead of South Africa’s transition towards a more competitive market. The R5-billion Mpumalanga project reached financial close in August on the back of the PPA, through which EXSA will buy all of the 525 GWh of electricity that the wind farm is expected to produce yearly once in full production. The 155 MW project, which will incorporate 25 wind turbines, is expected to begin generating electricity in October 2027.
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