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Eskom to launch solar, battery tenders in 2024 as part of Komati ‘repowering’

Eskom reports that concessional funding of $497-million secured for the repowering and repurposing of the Komati coal power station, in Mpumalanga, is expected to become effective at the end of July. The final unit of Komati, which entered into commercial operation in 1961, was shut on October 31 last year and the site has since emerged as the flagship location for Eskom’s Just Energy Transition (JET) strategy.
July 7, 2023 by

Congo and South Africa plan to revive Inga 3 hydro project

Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa on Thursday pledged to revive Congo’s giant Inga 3 hydroelectric project that South Africa hopes will help solve its crippling power crisis. The $14-billion project, which will harness the power of the Congo River, has been repeatedly delayed by red tape and disagreements between Congo and its partners.
July 7, 2023 by

Grid capacity, skills shortages hampering renewables roll-out

Grid capacity constraints and skills shortages have been highlighted by several renewable industry leaders as the primary issues that are holding South Africa back from overcoming the current energy crisis. In a webinar hosted by Creamer Media last month, pundits from various industry bodies discussed the role that renewable energy might play in assisting South Africa in overcome loadshedding.
July 7, 2023 by

KITE 2023 promises to be ‘bigger and better’

The KwaZulu-Natal Industrial Technology Exhibition, also known as KITE, will be held at the Durban Exhibition Centre from July 18 to 20 for the fortieth consecutive year.  Attendance numbers are expected to exceed those of last year, at 2 716, even though the 2022 event was the first in-person trade show to be hosted following the Covid-19 lockdowns. 
July 7, 2023 by

Mining, refining, smelting investment of up to $4tr by 2030 needed to support net-zero shift …

As the world accelerates the deployment of climate technologies in support of the net-zero transition, there is a risk that materials supply might not scale at the required speed, a new McKinsey & Company report warns. To meet demand for minerals and metals used in battery electric vehicles (BEVs), wind turbines, solar panels and electrolysers, the report states that mining project development would need to far exceed historical growth rates, while the pace of exploration would also have to accelerate.
July 6, 2023 by

Eskom’s approved plan to bypass pollution rules hit by appeal

Environmental activists have appealed against a South African government decision to allow Eskom Holdings to bypass equipment used to reduce sulphur dioxide pollution while it repairs one of its biggest coal-fired power plants. The appeal has been filed to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment by groundWork and the Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action, according to court documents distributed by the Centre for Environmental Rights, the lawyers representing the groups, on Thursday.
July 6, 2023 by

Grid storage uptake in South Africa lacks ‘direction or momentum’

A new report published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) highlights that grid storage has yet to gain “direction or momentum” in South Africa, despite a growing recognition of the role that both utility scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) and other storage technologies can play in providing electricity services besides that of complementing renewables. Titled ‘Watts in Store’, the report distinguishes between grid or front-of-the-meter storage and consumer storage, with behind-the-meter energy storage having expanded significantly as firms and households have sought to protect themselves from intensifying loadshedding. Industry estimates quoted in the report indicate that, by 2022, yearly residential storage deployments alone had jumped to about 2 GWh.
July 5, 2023 by