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Local energy storage company marks success by opening new, enlarged, facility

South African stationary energy storage battery systems company Blue Nova Energy officially opened its new combined head office and assembly facility in Somerset West, near Cape Town, on Friday. The company produces a range of systems based on lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4 for short) batteries and has to expand its facilities to meet growing demand, both in the domestic and export (especially, but not exclusively, other African) markets. The company is focused on serving customers who need to …
January 27, 2023 by

Roadmap sets out the critical skills South Africa needs for a just energy transition

The South African National Energy Association (Sanea), together with the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), has launched an ‘Energy Skills Roadmap’ for South Africa, highlighting the requisite human capacity skills to deliver the technical energy solutions and socioeconomic improvements needed for a just energy transition.

The roadmap is informed by research, gap analysis and stakeholder engagement workshops having been undertaken in earnest since 2020 by Sanea, Wits’ Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL) and Wits Business School’s African Energy Leadership Centre.

January 27, 2023 by

Eskom to borrow R4bn for diesel as Treasury dishes out tough love

The stand-off between Eskom and the National Treasury over funding for diesel has ended with an agreement that government will support Eskom borrowing from commercial banks, should it be unable to reprioritise its own resources.  In December, Eskom declared that it had run out of money to buy more diesel, having spent R12-billion, overshooting its annual budget by more than 100% – with four months to go until the end of the financial year. 
January 27, 2023 by

IFC ESG programme for pension funds to boost development impact investment

Development finance institution the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has launched the Integrated Environmental, Social and Governance (IESG) programme in South Africa to support and enable pension funds to play a greater developmental role in South Africa, said IFC South Africa and Southern Africa country manager Adamou Labara. “The importance of integrating ESG into pension funds’ processes cannot be overemphasised. Given the areas in which they invest and their footprint, they have the reach and impact to lead the financial sector [in integrating ESG principles into practices],” he said this week.
January 27, 2023 by

Coils and poles manufactured for client in Cameroon

Electric motor repair service provider Marthinusen & Coutts finalised the manufacture and delivery of four new replacement field coils and poles for a 25 MVA 36-pole generator at a hydroelectric power station in Cameroon. Finalised in September, the order, booked in June, for hydropower project manager Voith Hydro in Africa, entailed the full development of tooling and jigs specially designed to suit the manufacturing needs for the coils and poles.
January 27, 2023 by

Renewable Energy, social upset key themes for miners in 2023 – Fitch Solutions

Capital expenditure of mining companies is increasingly being aimed at renewable energy projects and associated grid development – a trend that is likely to continue throughout this year, financial risk management, solutions and insights company Fitch Solutions commodities analyst Amelia Haines says. She notes that the use of renewable energy to accommodate current and future energy needs will be the key strategy being used by miners to reduce costs this year, as it can reduce costs in the long term, while also having the benefit of reducing threats to energy security.
January 26, 2023 by

TFR sets March 20 closing date for tender seeking OEMs to step in to rehabilitate idle locos

Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has set a closing date of March 20 for responses to a tender inviting original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to step in to rehabilitate more than 160 Chinese-manufactured locomotives that are out of service, owing to the unavailability of critical spare parts. The unavailability of locomotives has affected operation on corridors used to export coal, magnetite, chrome and manganese, with the coal corridor having been particularly badly affected with the number of operational locomotives having slumped by 33%, between the 2017/18 and 2020/21 financial years, a collapse that TFR itself describes as “staggering”.
January 26, 2023 by

City Power announces R401m short-term loadshedding mitigation plan

In what could be her last address as City of Johannesburg (CoJ) mayor, since she faces a vote of no confidence, Mpho Phalatse has announced City Power’s ‘Sustainable Energy Strategy’, which it has published with the aim of attracting funding, to help reduce the severity of loadshedding in the city.
She says the city has been on a path towards reducing its reliance on Eskom in earnest since May last year, following the Joburg Energy Indaba.
January 26, 2023 by

Kearney appoints energy sector veteran Reddy as equity partner

Management consulting firm Kearney has appointed energy specialist Prashaen Reddy as an equity partner.

A business leader with over 13 years of experience in consulting, including six years focused on strategy and transformation in key sectors like energy, mining and chemicals, Reddy’s participatory, collaborative approach to macroeconomic challenges has earned him widespread acclaim.

January 26, 2023 by