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SAWEA welcomes Eskom’s updated Transmission Development Plan

Industry organisation the South Africa Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has welcomed State-owned utility Eskom’s announcement, during the Transmission Development Plan (TDP) public forum on October 27, that about 53 GW of new additional generation capacity is expected to be added to the grid up to 2032. “This far exceeds the 30 GW proposed in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019, which once again illustrates the importance of updating the IRP to reflect the new realities of the energy sector taking into account the deterioration of the energy availability factor (EAF) of Eskom’s existing coal-fired power plants,” SAWEA emphasises.
November 1, 2022 by

Vega unveils new Lanseria-based Africa headquarters

German instrumentation and control company Vega opened its new 6 000 m2 Africa head office and warehouse, in Lanseria, on October 31, to enhance service in the country, as well as expand services and products into Southern and Central Africa.

Having previously occupied a 1 000 m2 Africa head office and warehouse in Honeydew from 2012 until this year, MD Frikkie Streicher says the company, experiencing significant growth over the past five to six years, has a long-term vision for the new building, having been allocated land with plenty of extra space – 15 000 m2 in total – so that the company can expand, as and when the need arises.

November 1, 2022 by

Moody’s boosts Eskom’s ratings outlook to positive after budget

Moody’s Investors Service improved its outlook on Eskom Holdings’s debt ratings to positive after South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced last week the government could take over a substantial portion of the power company’s debt. Moody’s boosted the outlook from negative, signaling that the next ratings action may now be an upgrade instead of another downgrade. It affirmed the utility’s long-term corporate family rating at Caa1, seven levels below investment grade.
November 1, 2022 by

Ghana’s nuclear energy ambitions to be supported by the US and Japan

The West African country of Ghana is set to be the first beneficiary of a new joint US-Japan civil nuclear cooperation agreement, established last week, named ‘Winning an Edge Through Cooperation in Advanced Nuclear’ (WECAN). Aimed at helping countries meet both their energy security and climate change mitigation goals, the agreement was signed at a Ministerial meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the US capital of Washington DC. “The [IAEA] considers nuclear energy necessary to achieve long-term climate goals, including net-zero emissions by 2050,” pointed out the US State Department in its press release. “WECAN reaffirms commitments by Japan and the United States to energy innovation, energy security, and global clean energy transition in a smart, cost-effective, and secure way by advancing the latest technology and commercial leadership in emerging technologies that provide firm, reliable electricity and industrial heat.”
October 31, 2022 by

Respected energy industry personality Nelisiwe Magubane has died

Well-known energy industry personality Nelisiwe Magubane, who served as director-general in the then Department of Energy for several years, has died at the age of 56 after a short illness. An electrical engineer, she began her professional career at Eskom, after completing a BSc Electrical Engineering (Heavy Current) at the University of Natal in the early 1990s.
October 31, 2022 by

Shutting of last Komati unit signals start of Eskom’s just energy transition journey

Eskom has announced that the final unit at the Komati power station in Mpumalanga was shut at midday October 31, officially signalling the end of the station’s operating life as a coal-fired generator and the site’s transition to a renewables, storage, manufacturing and training hub – one that could serve as a global reference as several countries consider ways to transition away from fossil fuels while supporting the livelihoods of affected workers and communities. Komati has been identified as the flagship site for Eskom’s so-called ‘Just Energy Transition (JET) Strategy’, which includes various repowering and repurposing initiatives, including the development of 150 MW of solar photovoltaic, 70 MW of wind and 150 MW battery storage at the retired station.
October 31, 2022 by

Amaranth CX compiles all energy information of SAPP on single platform

Consultancy Amaranth CX has put together all available information on South Africa’s renewable energy projects on a platform called 1Map, including existing power stations and substations, transmission lines, environmental applications, strategic corridors and renewable energy development zones, farm boundaries and protected areas.

The information covers all 12 countries of the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP), incorporated on 1Map’s online, browser-based, cloud-hosted and multi-layer map.

October 31, 2022 by

Gauteng premier wants Soweto’s Eskom debt of close to R5bn written off

After government’s commitment to pay billions to settle Sanral’s e-toll debt, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi also wants Soweto’s debt to Eskom – nearly R5-billion – scrapped.  “Minister [Enoch] Godongwana, we truly appreciate how you respect negotiations. Can we safely assume that the Soweto Eskom electricity debt and that of other townships is also scrapped as per our intensive lobby?” Lesufi tweeted on Friday.
October 30, 2022 by

Stage 2 loadshedding is back this week, Eskom confirms

Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 05:00 on Monday until 05:00 on Tuesday, and again during the evening peaks from 16:00 until midnight on Tuesday and Wednesday, Eskom said on Sunday afternoon. “Eskom will publish a further update on Wednesday afternoon, or as soon as there are any significant changes,” spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said.
October 30, 2022 by

Will grid, logistics and construction constraints stymie urgent wind energy ramp-up?

In light of ongoing grid constraints, some wind industry practitioners are warning that only about 2 GW of the 3.2 GW wind allocation in Bid Window Six (BW6) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) is likely to be taken up, given that lower-priced solar photovoltaic projects could absorb a portion of the remaining available network in the key wind provinces of the Eastern and Western Cape. There are also warnings that South Africa’s logistics and …
October 28, 2022 by