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South Africa needs oil, gas, nuclear, as well as renewables – Mantashe

Delivering the keynote address at the Enlit Africa conference in Cape Town on Wednesday, South African Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe reported that the current moratorium on the development of the country’s shale gas resources would be lifted. Any subsequent Court challenges would be met. The country would go ahead with the development of its oil and gas resources, despite Court challenges. South Africa needed oil and gas. He was also seeking to revive the State-owned oil company, Petrosa, which had been subjected to “asset-stripping”.
May 17, 2023 by

Gordhan refutes claim that he prompted De Ruyter’s private Eskom investigation

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan tore strips off former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter during his appearance before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday, dismissing descriptions of De Ruyter as a whistle-blower and suggesting that naming politicians fingered in an unsubstantiated privately funded intelligence report would amount to a smear campaign. The meeting is the fourth to be convened following allegations of serious corruption and sabotage made by De Ruyter during an explosive television interview in February and subsequently also repeated in his book, which was released on May 14.
May 17, 2023 by

Mantashe outlines procurement schedules, including for nuclear, as he confirms IRP delay

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has pulled back from his statement that the release of the revised Integrated Resource Plan, which he has dubbed IRP 2023, is imminent, revealing during his Budget Vote on Tuesday that the draft will be presented to Cabinet only in the second quarter of this financial year. Government’s financial year runs from the start of April to the end of March, implying that the presentation to Cabinet will be made between July and September .
May 16, 2023 by

Economic development not a qualifying criteria for 513 MW battery storage bids

Economic development factors have not been included as qualifying criteria for South Africa’s inaugural Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (ESIPPPP), through which the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy aims to procure 513 MW, or at least 2 052 MWh, of battery storage across five substation sites in the Northern Cape. The ESIPPPP request for proposals (RFP) was launched on March 7 and the bid submission date has been set for July 5, while Eskom has selected sites at the following substations:
May 15, 2023 by

Climate commission recommends grid PPPs to speed up just energy transition

The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) is recommending that alternative investment models, including public-private partnerships (PPPs), be explored to expand and strengthen South Africa’s electricity grid “at speed and scale”, given the centrality of the grid to unlocking the energy transition, as well as the just components of the transition. However, it also stresses that there is no intention to privatise the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTC), which is in the process of being established as a separate entity under Eskom Holdings.
May 15, 2023 by

Pan African advances renewables procurement plans

Midtier Africa-focused gold producer Pan African Resources has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with renewable energy company Juwi Renewable Energies for an 8.87 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) facility at the Barberton Mines’ Fairview operation, in Mpumalanga. Pan African expects the solar facility will provide cost savings of R26-million in year one, before averaging R40-million a year in cost savings over the life of the plant.
May 15, 2023 by

Fuel industry does not foresee loadshedding-induced diesel shortages this winter

The South African Petroleum Industry Association (Sapia) is not anticipating a domestic diesel supply crunch this winter as a result of a spike in generator-related demand, despite ongoing warnings of possible higher levels of loadshedding and the prospect of Eskom, businesses and even some households turning to the fuel in an effort to mitigate the impact of regular power cuts. Sapia executive director Avhapfani Tshifularo tells Engineering News that domestic diesel demand has remained relatively static over the past few years and that the average monthly consumption is about 1.1-billion litres currently.
May 15, 2023 by

Powerships likely to feature in five-year Eskom emergency procurement

The prospect of South Africa procuring electricity from powerships docked either in South Africa or in a neighbouring country has increased, with the Eskom board having approved three emergency procurement programmes that now only require the concurrence of the regulator before proceeding. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) will host hearings on May 19 into three determinations for emergency power, including: the 2 000 MW Load Shedding Reduction Programme (LSRP); a 1 000 MW scheme to secure additional cross-border electricity; and an 800 MW Emergency Generation Procurement Programme.
May 12, 2023 by