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Embedded generation investment a begrudging tonic for the economy

While South Africans lament having to make the grudge purchase of embedded electricity generation capacity, it has been a tonic for the economy in terms of investment, Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim has said. Speaking at Standard Bank’s headquarters, in Johannesburg, on February 9, he added that, with the level of investment in embedded electricity generation, South Africa could add up to 1 GW a year, which would equate to about one level of loadshedding reduction.
February 9, 2023 by

Cape Town allocates extra R87m for electrical maintenance arising from loadshedding

The City of Cape Town Energy Directorate has budgeted an additional R87-million for electrical infrastructure maintenance to deal with loadshedding fall-out and ensure reliable service delivery in this and the next financial year. “Loadshedding continues to hammer city infrastructure that has not been designed for constant loadshedding. Contingency measures are in place, as far as possible,” says City of Cape Town energy MMC Beverly van Reenen.
February 9, 2023 by

Eskom air pollution puts almost 80 000 lives at risk, study says

Air pollution from coal-fired power plants run by South Africa’s Eskom Holdings risks killing 79 500 people from 2025 until they are due to be shut, according to a study submitted to a government-appointed panel. The research by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air assumes that the utility will continue to operate its plants as it does currently, with many of them breaching South African emission standards. The study was cited on Wednesday by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), a legal organisation representing environmental activist organizations in its submission to a panel on air pollution.
February 9, 2023 by

ArcelorMittal moves ahead with 200 MW Vanderbijl renewables project, studies third-party rail access

ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) expects initial construction work on a 200 MW renewable-energy plant in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, to begin during the fourth quarter of 2023, with a feasibility study into the solution nearing completion. CEO Kobus Verster says the project has been necessitated by ongoing unreliable electricity supply and rising tariffs and he anticipates that the investment will begin delivering “meaningful cost reduction benefits by 2024/5”.
February 9, 2023 by

Inclusivity, productive land use and promoting biodiversity all help miners to go green

Major South African mining company Exxaro Resources had based its ambitions regarding the global decarbonisation process on its realisation that its own transition process had to be inclusive, assured the group’s Executive Head: Sustainability, Mongezi Veti. He was participating in a panel discussion at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2023, in Cape Town, on Wednesday. Exxaro was originally, and remained predominantly, a coal miner, although it was diversifying its portfolio, including …
February 9, 2023 by

Nordex continues to see opportunity in South Africa despite recent headwinds

European wind turbine original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Nordex says South Africa remains a key market despite the disappointment of the country’s most recent renewables bidding round when not a single wind project advanced to preferred-bidder status, owing to grid constraints in the Cape provinces. Nordex Energy South Africa MD Compton Saunders tells Engineering News that the development has prompted a reassessment of the country’s future wind-turbine potential by the company, which has an estimated 32% domestic market share.
February 9, 2023 by

Salga calls for SoNA to address municipal debt recovery, energy crisis

The South African Local Government Association (Salga) has expressed hopes that President Cyril Ramaphosa will address municipal debt recovery, local government funding and the energy crisis as part of his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on February 9.    This year’s SoNA takes place as South Africa struggles to deal with a significant energy crisis and a rising cost of living.  
February 8, 2023 by

Outa braces for more empty promises from SoNA

Ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s yearly State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on February 9, Organisation Against Tax Abuse (Outa) CEO Wayne Duvenage has warned that empty promises will only deepen the distrust South Africans have towards the government.  “The Edelman Trust barometer has, for many years, indicated that South Africans have one of the lowest rates of trust in its government, with distrust as the default position. If [Ramaphosa] continues to make empty promises, he will continue to widen this gap. We need believable implementation of the many plans that are promised. We need impact,” he said. 
February 8, 2023 by

Shoprite, Coca-Cola, Burger King and others urge Ramaphosa to halt fuel taxes

The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) on Tuesday urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to scrap the sugar tax, as well as suspend the fuel duty and road accident fund levies for the industry amid record levels of load shedding. In an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa – sent on behalf of the CEOs of Shoprite, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Tiger Brands, Burger King, British American Tobacco, Walmart-owned Massmart, Steers-owner Famous Brands and others – the CGCSA says that load shedding has “escalated catastrophically” and was crippling businesses.
February 8, 2023 by