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Private sector technical teams begin work at four troubled coal stations

Private sector support teams, assembled with the support of the R100-million Resource Mobilization Fund (RMF), have been deployed across four troubled coal-fired power stations to assist Eskom with its Generation Recovery Plan. Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reports that the teams officially began their work at Matla, Kriel, Majuba and Kendal on June 5, with specific targets having been set for the recovery of each plant’s energy availability factor (EAF).
June 5, 2023 by

Scatec replants local quiver trees at Kenhardt site

Renewable energy company Scatec has undertaken a massive quiver tree planting and replanting operation at its Kenhardt site, in the Northern Cape. The replanting started after the company was awarded the solar project under the Renewable Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.  The site is currently under construction and, once it reaches completion, will have a total solar capacity of 540 MW, battery storage capacity of 225 MW or 1 140 MWh, and provide 150 MW of dispatchable renewable power under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
June 5, 2023 by

Ramokgopa describes five-year emergency powership term as ‘non-negotiable’

Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has reiterated his position that any procurement of electricity from powerships should be limited to a maximum of five years, describing such a term as “non-negotiable”, while also warning that imposing such a restriction could result in higher tariffs. He is far less unequivocal, however, about how such electricity might be procured, indicating that it could be the outcome of direct negotiations with Karpowership, which remains a preferred bidder for projects with a combined capacity of 1 200 MW under the much-delayed Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), or an entirely new emergency procurement process.
June 2, 2023 by

Gravity energy storage systems an option at South Africa’s coal power stations

Consultancy Sizana Solutions says gravity energy storage systems (GESS) fit in “beautifully” with South Africa’s just energy transition, as it can create multiple thousands of jobs while constructing energy storage assets and drive environmental restoration, especially at soon-to-be decommissioned coal-fired power stations.

Sizana, the appointed consultant of NYSE-listed Energy Vault in Southern Africa, affirms that there are multiple viable opportunities for GESS in the country, particularly as it offers a lower life cycle cost compared with most other energy storage mediums owing to to its long life and no degradation.

June 2, 2023 by

‘We are not involved’: Absa says it won’t be funding Karpowership

Absa Group has settled on a final position not to fund the controversial Karpowership projects in South Africa, it confirmed on Friday. Speaking at the banking group’s annual general meeting on Friday, chairperson Sello Moloko cut short a question posed by an activist organisation to confirm that Absa would not be funding the Turkish company’s emergency gas-to-power projects.
June 2, 2023 by

Karpowership, distributed generation and grid investment updates

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the latest updates on the actions South Africa is taking to address the electricity crisis, including positive developments on the distributed generation and trasnmission grid investment fronts, but with the immediate prognosis in terms of loadshedding remaining bleak. The country also faces the risk of making potentially extremely costly decisions as it considers options for the procurement of electricity to be generated by Karpowership.  
June 2, 2023 by

TCO contracts reduce costs, boost efficiency

The latest National Energy Regulator of South Africa- (Nersa-) approved price increase of 18.55% means that the cost of electricity is now 63.08% more expensive than in April 2019, says motor and controls manufacturer Zest WEG strategic sales manager Herman Lues. He explains that since the energy crisis first started in 2008, there has been a “definite inflection point for electricity tariffs in South Africa, as from 2007 to 2022, electricity tariffs have increased by 653%”.
June 2, 2023 by

Manufacturer innovates for energy, growing industries

The ongoing energy supply crisis in South Africa has put the spotlight on the importance of reliable and efficient renewable-energy systems, and the role of the mechanical seal industry in supporting this need, states mechanical seals technology provider AESSEAL marketing manager Jana Britz. As the demand for more sustainable and efficient solutions continues to increase in the energy sector in South Africa, the mechanical seal industry will play a vital role in supporting this transition, Britz stresses.
June 2, 2023 by

Climate commission calls for revised IRP to upscale renewables allocation to 60 GW by 2030

The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) is recommending that the next edition of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which is currently under review, cater for the building of between 50 GW and 60 GW of variable renewable energy by 2030, supported by co-located storage of between 3 GW and 5 GW, as well as gas peaking support. It adds, too, that if anchored on a least-cost approach, South Africa should not build any new coal or new nuclear capacity, while also noting that renewables coupled with storage represents the only realistic technology options for resolving loadshedding in two to four years, given the long lead times involved for either coal (10 to 12 years) or nuclear (12 to 15 years).
June 1, 2023 by