Shell sees AI revolutionising energy system in new outlook

AI could lead to significant energy demand growth as the technology is implemented across industries, an acceleration that could also help to halve the system’s carbon intensity by 2050, according to a new report from Shell. As productivity improvements resulting from AI – including automation, especially in manufacturing – enable major economic growth, consumption of oil will continue to expand by three to five million barrels a day into the 2030s, before peaking and then declining slowly over a long period, Shell said. Natural gas demand could increase into the 2040s while the use of petrochemicals is likely to continue into the 22nd century.
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Sappi Southern Africa , Enpower reach financial close on 175 GWh/y renwables PPA

Sustainable woodfibre products and solutions company Sappi’s Southern Africa business and energy trader Enpower Trading have reached financial close on a five-year 175 GWh/y renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA). Under the terms of the PPA, which was first announced in May last year, Enpower will source power from green energy solutions provider SolarAfrica Energy’s 1 GW Sun Central 1 solar PV project, which is being built near De Aar, in the Northern Cape, and supply electricity to Sappi’s South African operations.
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Energy council launches ‘Energise Mzansi’ information campaign

The Energy Council of South Africa has launched a communications campaign dubbed ‘Energise Mzansi’, which it says will seek to improve “energy transition literacy” amid rapid structural changes in the sector and ongoing supply insecurity and rising affordability risks. CEO James Mackay says that through the campaign the council aims to “connect South Africans with the factual information they need to make sense of the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the energy transition”.
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Necsa ‘deeply saddened’ by board member death

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) says it is “deeply saddened” by the passing of board member Senamile Masango on February 8. Masango was a Necsa board member since January 2020. She was part of the board which oversaw the development and implementation of the Necsa turnaround strategy that was approved in 2021.
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TNPA signs 25-year operator agreement for South Africa’s first LNG import terminal

South Africa’s State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has signed a 25-year terminal operator agreement with Zululand Energy Terminals (ZET) for the development of the country’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at the Port of Richards Bay’s South Dunes precinct. ZET is a JV between Vopak Terminal Durban and Transnet Pipelines, which was selected in 2024 as the preferred bidder to develop, construct and operate a new LNG terminal at the deepwater KwaZulu-Natal port.
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Business cautiously optimistic on SoNA commitments, but execution will be critical

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA), delivered on February 6, has been met with cautious optimism. The Bureau of Economic Research (BER) commended the SoNA’s focus on the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP), which aims to boost economic growth to over 3% through large-scale infrastructure investment.
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Business cautiously optimistic of SoNA commitments, but execution will be critical

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA), delivered on February 6, has been met with cautious optimism. The Bureau of Economic Research (BER) commended the SoNA’s focus on the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP), which aims to boost economic growth to over 3% through large-scale infrastructure investment.
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Geopolitics, reforms key themes of the 2025 SoNA

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses some of the key themes of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s first State of the Nation Address since the establishment of the Government of National Unity; whether the SoNA reflected the fact that Cabinet now includes multiple political parties; how the President navigated some of the brewing geopolitical storms; and some of the key takeaways on the economy and for business.
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Nersa’s carbon tax decision may signal extension of prevailing approach to electricity price …

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) recent decision to disallow Eskom from raising revenue through the tariff for carbon taxes may indicate that the National Treasury has opted to extend the electricity price neutrality approach used during the first phase of the tax by a further five years to 2030. In its sixth multiyear price determination application (MYPD6), Eskom applied for carbon tax revenue of R5.5-billion in 2025/26, R21.3-billion in 2026/27 and 18.9-billion in 2026/27 in anticipation of the implementation of the second phase of the carbon tax on January 1, 2026.
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New Nordex head says South Africa remains key market, despite recent headwinds

Newly appointed Nordex Energy South Africa MD Robert Timmers says that South Africa is poised to be one of the multinational’s largest markets outside of North America and Europe in 2025. This, despite recent public procurement disappointments arising from the country’s well-documented grid constraints and delays in the introduction of new curtailment rules. In an interview with Engineering News, Timmers indicated that the demand gap left by the last two Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPPP) bidding rounds was currently being partially closed for Nordex by two large private projects in the Eastern Cape, with a combined capacity of 631 MW.
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