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Bushveld announces further steps to carve out independent energy storage entity

Integrated primary vanadium producer and energy storage solutions provider Bushveld Minerals has announced that VRFB Holdings (VRFB-H) has entered into a conditional agreement with Garnet Commerce and Mustang Energy, pursuant to which VRFB-H has agreed to acquire Garnet’s 50% interest in Enerox Holdings Limited, which wholly owns Enerox, for $33.17-million in cash and shares. This is the latest in a series of transactions aimed at providing Enerox and its CellCube brand access to the capital markets, the ability to achieve a transparent market value and attract energy-focused investors, Bushveld CEO Fortune Mojapelo said on April 12.
April 12, 2023 by

South Africa should not shy away from costs of fixing power crisis – Minister

South Africa should not shy away from spending to fix the country’s power crisis, its electricity minister told Reuters, ahead of a cabinet decision later this month on his proposals to end the worst power blackouts on record. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, appointed last month to the newly created role, was speaking in an interview less than two months after the National Treasury granted state utility Eskom R254-billion of debt relief over the next three years.
April 12, 2023 by

South Africa’s new grid company could be operational by mid-year if licence and lender …

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has hosted public hearings into an application by the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTC) for the three licences it requires to begin operating as an independent subsidiary of Eskom Holdings, in line with the unbundling “journey” first outlined by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) in 2019. The vertical separation of the grid company from Eskom is seen as a crucial step for levelling the playing field between Eskom Generation and independent power producers (IPPs), as well as for ensuring that sufficient transmission assets are funded and built to facilitate new generation investment.
April 11, 2023 by

OPEC Fund financing clean cooking energy transition in Madagascar

The OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) have signed an agreement to provide a $1.5-million in grant funding for technical assistance support for Madagascar’s National Clean Cooking Transition Programme. The two agencies also signed a declaration to reinforce their partnership in promoting the energy transition and securing access to energy. “We are very pleased to expand our cooperation with UNIDO and to support our flagship clean cooking programme in Madagascar with UNIDO’s vast technical and advisory expertise, which is critical for effective implementation,” enthused OPEC Fund director-general Dr Abdulhamid Alkhalifa.
April 11, 2023 by

GIBS to host a Renewable Energy Dialogue on April 20

The Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) will host a Renewable Energy Dialogue to discuss key issues critical to supporting the efforts to end loadshedding in South Africa on its campus in Illovo, Johannesburg, on April 20. The dialogue will focus on unpacking the executive decision, analytics and strategy consultancy Meridian Economics’ report on ‘Resolving the Power Crisis: Insights from 2022’ and unpack the report on resolving the power crisis by adding more renewable energy into the Eskom power grid.
April 11, 2023 by

Loadshedding has led to job shedding for township businesses, report finds

Almost two-thirds of township businesses have been forced to shed jobs because of loadshedding, according to a new report. But business owners say the situation is even direr – they face closing if the power outages continue. According to the Nedbank Insights Report, conducted in partnership with the Township Entrepreneurs Alliance (TEA), 64% of small township businesses cease operations during loadshedding and almost 66% of business owners have cut jobs because of loadshedding.
April 11, 2023 by

‘Strong indications that criminality played a role here’: Tshwane pylon collapse linked to crime

Criminality was the likely cause of the collapse of seven pylons, which supported 132kV powerlines, on the N4 in Pretoria on Sunday night, according to City of Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink. “There are now clear indications that at least three of the pylons had been vandalised. So, indeed, there are strong indications that criminality played a role here,” he said in an update on Monday. 
April 11, 2023 by

Spain to invest $2.3bn in South Africa’s energy transition

Spain is providing €2.1-billion ($2.3-billion) to help fund South Africa’s energy transition and water needs, even as some of the world’s richest nations struggle to push forward on a ground-breaking climate-finance initiative with the continent’s most-industrialized country. The Spanish funding is being provided through a mixture of financial instruments, with the country’s government working with its development finance institution, Cofides, and South Africa’s Industrial Development Corp., said Ambassador Raimundo Robredo Rubio.
April 6, 2023 by

Siemens Energy extolls benefits of solar thermal energy and storage solution

Energy development company Siemens Energy on April 6 highlighted the benefits of its new solar thermal energy and storage solution, highlighting the potential it could have to “revolutionise” the way in which energy is produced and used to power society. Outlining the innovation, Siemens Energy project director Dr Ulrich Hueck said solar power exceeds all other energy reserves; therefore, there needs to be a means to make use of it at night, with it having the potential to power the world during the day.
April 6, 2023 by

Anuva Green Energy adds 23 solar projects to its Section 12B portfolio

Tax-leveraged investment specialist Anuva Investments has successfully deployed funds raised through the Anuva Green Energy partnership to conclude the purchase of 23 solar projects, equivalent to 11 MW of power from independent power producer Decentral Energy. The funds have been raised through a tax-leveraged structure and have allowed shareholders to benefit from the investment into Decentral’s solar projects by making use of the South African Revenue Services’ (Sars’) Section 12B tax incentive.
April 6, 2023 by