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Solar users should focus on monitoring, managing and maximising assets

The solar industry experienced a boom between 2020 and 2023 when loadshedding was rife; however, the rush to install solar panels left monitoring and maximising these power systems as an afterthought, says solar technology specialist SolrBoost cofounder Paul de Goede.

He explains that 80% of solar systems in residential and small commercial and industrial operations are monitored reactively, instead of proactively with the use of analytics, which leads to lower returns on investment (ROI) for these assets.

July 18, 2025 by

Apollo Africa ramps up electricity trading with balanced, scalable growth strategy

Licensed electricity trader Apollo Africa is ramping up its market entry with a balanced, scalable growth strategy that leverages its position as a trusted intermediary between South Africa’s top-tier independent power producers (IPPs) and a growing portfolio of industrial and commercial customers. Newly appointed interim CEO Ed Cameron reports that Apollo’s role unlocks reliable renewable energy supply for South African businesses through wheeling, while helping both IPPs and customers manage risk.
July 18, 2025 by

Five-year solar power deal comes with zero investment, immediate saving, free upkeep

Lower-cost, free-maintenance, zero-investment rooftop solar electricity is the enticing five-year power purchase agreement (PPA) offer from Sosimple Energy – a diligent entrepreneurial company which already owns and operates more than 75 of solar PV assets across South Africa’s industrial and commercial sectors, and which is targeting five times more. “The customer carries no risk or expense beyond paying for the power they consume. We recover our investment over the term of the agreement,” Sosimple Energy MD Liana Braxton outlines in the attached video interview with Engineering News & Mining Weekly Publishing Editor Martin Creamer.
July 18, 2025 by

Consultancy underscores value of air-quality offsets

Air-quality offsets offer a valuable tool for providing significant improvements in air quality, particularly when direct emission reductions are challenging or unfeasible, highlights global mining consultancy SRK Consulting South Africa chairperson and principal environmental geochemist Vis Reddy. Air quality offset programmes provide industries with an opportunity to counterbalance the impacts of their industrial emissions by reducing air pollution in surrounding communities that are generated from other sources.
July 18, 2025 by

Nersa outlines 11-month process for finalising electricity trading rules

In a belated move, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has announced an 11-month process to set rules for electricity trading, having already licensed ten trading entities, while also preparing to hold hearings on three more licence applications in August. In terms of the timeline presented by the regulator, the intention is to have the rules Gazetted by June next year.
July 17, 2025 by

Lack of collaboration between African nations preventing critical minerals beneficiation capability

A severe lack of economic collaboration between nations is stifling Africa’s critical minerals beneficiation aspirations, expert panel members agreed during the Manufacturing Indaba, in Sandton, on July 16. The panel convened to discuss the challenges standing in the way of unlocking Africa’s critical minerals to power the future of manufacturing on the continent.
July 16, 2025 by

Eskom finalising PPP framework for 5 GW just energy transition pipeline

Eskom reports that repowering projects with a combined capacity of 5 GW are currently under development across six coal power station sites and that it is aiming to implement 2 GW by 2026, mostly through public-private partnerships (PPPs). In a presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy, the State-owned company said the projects formed part of the repowering component of its Just Energy Transition (JET) strategy, which was also central to “kickstarting” a broader aspiration to introduce 20 GW of clean generation by 2040.
July 16, 2025 by

Monde Bala appointed NTCSA interim CEO while search for permanent head continues

The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) has announced that Monde Bala, who has hitherto been group executive at Eskom Distribution, will be seconded to the role of interim CEO from August 1, succeeding Segomoco Scheppers. In a statement, NTCSA said that an “accelerated” process of recruiting and appointing a permanent CEO was also currently under way.
July 15, 2025 by

Solarise Africa commissions 1 MW solar plant for Northern Cape farm

Energy-as-a-service company Solarise Africa has commissioned a 1 MW ground-mounted solar installation at the Zuurgat Farm, near Hopetown, in the Northern Cape, for farming enterprise Genade Boerdery. The newly commissioned solar system comprises 1 976 Longi 550 W solar modules and 8 Huawei 115 kW inverters, and form a robust grid-tied setup that has been designed to maximise reliability and efficiency.
July 15, 2025 by

Eskom insists delayed return of Koeberg Unit 1 won’t increase loadshedding risk

Eskom has announced a delay to the return of Koeberg Unit 1 from another extended maintenance outage, but insists that the risk of loadshedding this winter has not increased as a result. The unit was shut early in the year for the second phase of its long-term operation maintenance programme, which was a requirement of its 20-year life extension granted by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) for the unit last year.
July 15, 2025 by