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South Africa’s transmission infrastructure must urgently be strengthened, extended

It is vital that South Africa’s transmission infrastructure be strengthened and bolstered, as the country pursues new renewable energy technologies and these are added into the mix, and as State-owned utility Eskom undertakes its unbundling. The was a key message from a panel discussion during industry organisation the South African National Energy Association’s (SANEA’s) 2022 conference.
November 10, 2022 by

National Treasury releases details of ‘highly concessional’ AFD, KfW loans worth €600m

The National Treasury has released details of what it describes as “highly concessional” loans with a combined value of €600-million, which are the first to be advanced under the $8.5-billion Just Energy Transition Partnership that South Africa entered into with several developed countries in 2021. The €300-million apiece loans were concluded this week with France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW) with the proceeds flowing directly to the National Treasury.
November 10, 2022 by

NNR highlights the transparency of its recent nuclear emergency exercise in Cape Town

The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) issued a press release on Thursday, highlighting the wide range of stakeholders who observed the full-scale nuclear emergency exercise at the Koeberg nuclear power plant (NPP) on November 4. This exercise was conducted to evaluate the nuclear emergency response systems of both Eskom (the owner and operator of the NPP) and the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Operations Centre and other agencies. “The NNR conducts regulatory nuclear emergency exercises periodically at Necsa Pelindaba and the Koeberg nuclear power station to ensure the effectiveness of the emergency response plans and the ability to ensure the safety of the public and the environment,” explained NNR Emergency Response and Preparedness manager Mothusi Ramerafe. “We use these exercises to review and evaluate the effectiveness of the NNR authorisation holders’ emergency management system as part of our regulatory oversight.”
November 10, 2022 by

Global nuclear agency highlights its role in helping Africa adapt to climate change

With the COP27 United Nations (UN) Climate Conference under way in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday released a report on how nuclear technologies are already being used to build climate change resilience across Africa. Over the past decade, nearly half of all the IAEA’s climate change adaptation projects have been undertaken in Africa. The UN has reported that agricultural productivity in Africa has been greatly reduced over the past 60 years by increased temperatures or droughts. The global body has calculated that these effects have cost the continent economic losses of $70-billion over the past 50 years.
November 10, 2022 by

Mminele outlines Just Energy Transition Investment Plan implementation vision

The International Partners Group (IPG) of France, Germany, the UK, the US and the EU jointly endorsed South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) during the World Leaders Summit at COP27, which took place at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on November 7. Engineering News editor Terence Creamer spoke to Presidential Climate Finance Task Team head Daniel Mminele about the significance of the endorsement and what it means for both the mobilisation of the $8.5-billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) funding package and South Africa’s far larger $99-billion (R1.5-trillion) JET-IP, which is proposed for implementation over the coming five years to 2027.
November 10, 2022 by

Climate projections again point to dangerous 2.7 °C rise by 2100

The research partnership Climate Action Tracker (CAT) on Thursday released its latest projections of how greenhouse gas emissions may dangerously raise the global average temperature. The result is similar to last year’s – a troubling 2.7 °C increase above preindustrial levels if policies don’t improve – but a different point of comparison adds a new dimension to the finding. The key numbers in the updated projections:
November 10, 2022 by

African G20 seat to help push rich nations on climate pledges

The African Union (AU) expects to officially join the Group of 20 (G20) nations this month, providing the continent with another seat at the table with some of the world’s biggest polluters as it confronts the fallout from global warming. The continental group aims to use the opportunity to call on rich nations to honor their promises to tackle climate change, including providing developing countries with $100-billion in financing each year, said Macky Sall, the President of Senegal who holds the AU’s rotating chairmanship. G20 nations are responsible for 80% of global emissions, while Africa accounts for less than 4%.
November 10, 2022 by

SANEA issues call to action to ensure energy for all

There are considerable constraints facing South Africa and Africa in terms of the sustainability and efficiency of energy supply; however, there are also opportunities in renewable energy generation, as the world looks to achieve net-zero targets by 2050. This was the key theme from the morning session on day one of industry organisation the South African National Energy Association’s (SANEA)’s 2022 conference.
November 9, 2022 by

South Africa’s ability to manage energy risks approaching a ‘tipping point’

South African is close to a tipping point in terms of its capacity to manage energy risks, the fifth and latest edition of the South African National Energy Association (SANEA) ‘Energy Risk Report’ warns. Presenting the report at SANEA’s 2022 conference in Johannesburg, general-secretary Wendy Poulton said that, although some progress had been made over the past year to reduce policy uncertainty, it was both insufficient and too slow.
November 9, 2022 by

Heineken unveils solar power plant

Beermaker Heineken unveiled its grid-based 6.5MW solar power plant at the company’s Sedibeng Brewery in Midvaal last month which will supply 30% of its power consumption as part of the company’s Brew A Better world strategy. Nadine Ramdass tells us more.
November 9, 2022 by