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Invest in grids today or face gridlock tomorrow, IEA warns

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is warning that investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure is failing to keep pace with renewables projects, and is leading to a large and growing queue of projects waiting to be connected to the grid globally. In a newly published report titled ‘Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions’, the agency notes that advanced projects with a combined capacity of 1 500 GW, or five times the amount of solar and wind capacity added worldwide in 2022, are currently waiting to be connected to the grid.
October 17, 2023 by

Ramaphosa rules out privatisating State companies

President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated that his administration wasn’t moving to privatize state-owned companies as the government initiates reforms to clean up their balance sheets and revive their performance. Private-sector investment was necessary to mobilize funds for economic infrastructure given the government’s limited fiscal space, Ramaphosa said at a meeting of his party, the African National Congress. The involvement would be “subject to stringent regulations,” which would enable energy security and exporting of critical goods.
October 17, 2023 by

Sasol, Anglo American Platinum and BMW ink deal to test hydrogen cars in SA

Anglo American Platinum, BMW Group South Africa (BMW SA) and Sasol have partnered to prove that a hydrogen mobility ecosystem can operate successfully within South Africa. The three companies on Monday inked an agreement at the 2023 South African Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town that will bring hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and supporting hydrogen refuelling technology to South Africa. 
October 16, 2023 by

Three coastal provinces move to partner on green hydrogen ahead of finalisation of country strategy

The Eastern, Northern and Western Cape provinces have agreed to team up in a bid to position South Africa as a global hub for the production of green hydrogen and derivative products, as well as to produce the components required in the green hydrogen value chain, ahead of the finalisation of the long-awaited Green Hydrogen Commercialisation Strategy. The three coastal provinces are all playing host to potential multi-billion rand green-hydrogen projects and have been working separately on strategies and roadmaps in an effort to capture the jobs, growth and industrialisation opportunities that could flow should the projects materialise.
October 15, 2023 by

Sun City’s solar installation performs beyond expectations

The newly installed solar plant at Sun International’s Sun City, in the North West, is exceeding expectations, having saved the company over R1-million over the past two months. The R16-million, grid-tied, 1.4 MW installed capacity system, with 2 584, 550 W monocrystalline solar photovoltaic modules, was installed on the roof of Sun City’s conference and entertainment centre earlier this year to reduce the resort’s reliance on South Africa’s electricity grid.
October 13, 2023 by

Energy transition implications highlighted at SA Auto Week

Amid local energy constraints and a global focus on increasing renewable energy capacity, the importance of ensuring that proper planning is implemented as South Africa transitions to cleaner energy was highlighted during a roundtable discussion at this year’s South African (SA) Auto Week, hosted by naamsa | The Automotive Business Council, in Johannesburg, from October 11 to 13. During the discussion, a need to diversify the energy mix and ensure a stable baseload energy supply was discussed, with South African Nuclear Energy Corporation CEO Loyiso Tyabashe arguing that nuclear energy can contribute towards a diversified energy mix.
October 12, 2023 by

Municipal credit risk poses big challenge as Eskom gears up to implement virtual wheeling

The credit risk associated with municipalities in arrears to Eskom poses a challenge to the roll-out of the utility’s proposed virtual wheeling platform and is also likely to limit the ability of corporates with distributed facilities to rely exclusively on virtual wheeling as currently conceived to meet their net-zero commitments. Eskom aims to launch the platform – which allows for one or more generators to transact with multiple customers that have disbursed operational footprints, including ones located in municipal distribution areas – in the second half of 2024.
October 12, 2023 by

Former Eskom employees targeted in Sars coal syndicate raids

The South African Revenue Service led a large-scale government search and seizure operation against several alleged members of coal smuggling syndicates across the country on Thursday, including former Eskom employees. “The alleged coal-smugglers and their related entities are active and have a presence in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and Limpopo,” the tax authority said in a statement. “The suspects targeted today include former Eskom employees who facilitated procurement fraud, as well as other individuals involved in the diversion of high-grade coal.” Sars said it established that the suspects had contravened several tax laws, including non-registration for income tax, failure to submit tax returns, under-declaration of income, claiming undue VAT refunds, and making false submissions. Sars put the loss of revenue to the fiscus by the syndicates at over R500-million. Coal smuggling syndicates have been a consistent problem for Eskom. Often, trucks transporting coal to power stations are diverted to specific coal yards, and high-quality coal is swapped out for low-grade product, scrap or rocks. When the lower-grade products are used at the station, they cause infrastructure damage, rendering them unable to generate electricity, leading to more loadshedding. Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the raids were a massive breakthrough in ongoing investigations into the syndicates.
October 12, 2023 by