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Busa warns that lack of detail in IRP 2023 makes it impossible to assess plan’s credibility

Business Unity South Africa (Busa) will approach the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to secure the technoeconomic information that has been used to inform the assumptions contained in the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which was released for public comment on January 4 absent an associated data book. The head of Busa’s energy and environment desk, Happy Khambule, tells Engineering News that the document is “thin on detail” and that, without securing the additional data, it will be impossible to assess its credibility, including the significant changes to the generation technology allocations for the period from 2024 to 2030 when compared with the prevailing IRP 2019.
January 8, 2024 by

South Africa to add further solar PV in 2024 – Scatec

Renewable energy company Scatec says solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity will grow significantly in South Africa this year and will continue to replace fossil-fuel-based traditional energy sources, as more homes and businesses make the switch to solar. Further, solar PV’s installed power capacity is poised to surpass that of coal, becoming the largest power source in the world by 2027, the company adds.
January 8, 2024 by

Affirma, Norfund and KLP provide $145m for CEC to build additional capacity

Private equity firm Affirma Capital, development finance institution Norfund and Norwegian pension fund Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP) have invested $145-million in Zambian independent power producer and transmission company Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC). The aim is to build on CEC’s success by strengthening its leadership in the Africa decarbonisation programme, building additional renewable capacity, extending access to power in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and helping CEC to play a role in the liberalisation and evolution in the electricity market in Southern Africa, the companies say.
January 8, 2024 by

Eskom ends grid access for Karpowership

Eskom Holdings said it will no longer reserve the transmission capacity it had agreed to set aside for winners of a South African tender for emergency power provision that didn’t meet a Dec. 31 deadline to complete their financial arrangements. The decision is a blow for Karpowership, the Turkish provider of ship-mounted power plants, and further reduces the likely impact the 2021 program will have in making a dent in the almost daily power outages that are crippling South Africa’s economy.
January 8, 2024 by

Voith equips 2 GW Angolan hydropower plant

Technology group Voith reports that it has received an order to supply equipment for the large-scale hydropower plant Caculo Cabaça in Angola.

The order comprises all electrical and mechanical equipment, including the installation of four Francis turbines with an output of 530 MW each, an additional Francis turbine with an output of 52 MW, generators, control and auxiliary systems and a customised training concept.

December 20, 2023 by

AfDB approves $9.72m grant to modernise African hydropower

The African Development Bank- (AfDB)-managed Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), on November 21, approved a $9.72-million grant to scale up the Africa Hydropower Modernisation Programme (AHMP) – a one-stop shop that overhauls African hydropower systems to enhance their reliability and flexibility.

With this new funding, AHMP will expand the modernisation of a pipeline of 12 private-sector-led projects in eight countries selected through a competitive process.
December 19, 2023 by

Eskom Soot Pollution is at a 31-year-high, 42 Times Worse Than China

Coal-fired power plants operated by South Africa’s state utility are emitting pollutants that primarily cause respiratory diseases such as asthma at almost 42 times the intensity of those in China.

Eskom Holdings, in the second week of December, said in the six months through September, particulate matter emissions deteriorated to 0.92 kg per MWh sent out – the highest since 1992, according to the utility.

December 19, 2023 by