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Grid expansion is a major opportunity to develop small business capacity, says Stellenbosch …

For South Africa to be energy secure by 2032, it needs to bring 53 GW of electricity into the energy system, which, in turn, requires 14 000 km of new transmission lines to be built in a decade.

The current transmission building capacity, however, is about 400 km/y, Stellenbosch University Centre for Sustainability Transitions junior researcher Alboricah Rathupetsane pointed out this week.

August 2, 2023 by

Novare invests in renewable energy to bolster pan-African sustainability drive

Investment solutions company Novare, which has a substantial property portfolio in Africa, on August 1 announced a significant investment in rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels as an eco-friendly and renewable energy source to curb carbon emissions across its African property portfolio and strengthen its sustainability drive. The first phase of this solar project focuses on Matola Mall, one of Novare’s retail properties in Mozambique, in collaboration with renewable energy company Enteria Moçambique.
August 2, 2023 by

Eskom slaps conditions on emergency bidders to stop grid hogging

Eskom Holdings =has imposed conditions to access the national grid on 1 850 MW worth of projects in South Africa that developers including Karpowership and Electricite de France SA have struggled to complete since they were awarded in March 2021. The right to access the grid is “conditional based on the projects achieving certain milestones by December 2023,” Eskom said on Wednesday in a response to queries. “This is in line with Eskom’s objective to have projects connect to the grid as soon as possible and to discourage capacity hogging.”
August 2, 2023 by

Presidency, business call for expedited passage during current Parliamentary term of Bill …

Presidency, business call for expedited passage during current Parliamentary term of Bill overhauling electricity market The Presidency and organised business have called for the passage of the Electricity Regulation Amendment (ERA) Bill to be expedited within the sixth Parliament, following a meeting on August 1 to discuss the progress being made under a previously announced partnership to jointly tackle the country’s energy, transport, and crime and corruption crises.
August 2, 2023 by

First new US nuclear power plant in three decades now producing electricity

American electricity utility Georgia Power on Monday announced that the first new nuclear power plant (NPP) built in the US in 30 years, Vogtle 3, had started commercial operation and was supplying electricity to consumers in the US State of Georgia. Vogtle 3 is a Westinghouse AP1000 pressurised water reactor. (Georgia Power is a subsidiary of the Southern Company, a group which holds a number of electricity and gas utilities across the southern US.) Vogtle 3 will have an operational life that will extend late into, and perhaps even to the end of, this century. At any given time, it be able to power approximately 500 000 homes and businesses.
August 1, 2023 by

One-year progress report says rooftop installations have doubled since start of Energy Action Plan

Despite ongoing loadshedding, President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved to highlight some of the implementation progress under the Energy Action Plan (EAP), which marked its first anniversary in late July, including a doubling of rooftop solar installations. The President’s weekly newsletter coincided with the release of a one-year progress report on the EAP, which covers developments under the plan’s five pillars, which include: fixing Eskom and improving the availability of existing supply; enabling and accelerating private investment in generation capacity; fast-tracking the procurement of new generation and storage capacity; unleashing investment by businesses and households into rooftop solar; and transforming the electricity sector to achieve long-term energy security.
July 31, 2023 by

Bid to interdict Eskom’s new grid rules fails

Renewable energy company G7 has failed to interdict Eskom from applying its new grid access rules. Had the interdict been granted, the progress of new energy projects, both those planned by the private sector and those commissioned to supply Eskom, would have stalled. Judge Basheer Vally dismissed the application for an interdict, with costs, on Monday. Part B of the case – on the substantive issue of Eskom’s authority to change grid rules – is still to be argued. 
July 31, 2023 by

Westbrooke reaches R300m close on renewable energy investment fund

South African investment management company Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management has successfully closed its R300-million inaugural tax-enhanced renewable energy alternatives investment strategy. It plans to invest the capital alongside South African businesses that install, operate and own small and medium-sized embedded generation solar photovoltaic (PV) projects.
July 31, 2023 by

Eskom sanguine about Nersa decision to approve three grid licences separately, but Presidency …

The head of Eskom’s transmission division says he was not surprised by the decision of the Energy Regulator to approve only one of the three licence applications made by the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTC), which is being unbundled from Eskom. However, the Presidency has expressed concern that the decision to process the licence applications separately could delay the operationalisation of the independent grid company, which it views as a priority reform for the embattled sector.
July 30, 2023 by

Energy Regulator approves 25-year transmission licence for NTC with two more approvals to follow

South Africa’s Energy Regulator, the highest decision-making body of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), has approved a 25-year transmission licence for the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTC), which is being unbundled from Eskom. Only a transmission facilities licence was granted during the meeting on July 27, and the regulator indicated that the trading licence and an import/export licence, which had also been applied for by NTC in a bundled application, would be processed separately.
July 28, 2023 by