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Accelerating replacement generation rather than 75% EAF should be main Eskom performance measure

Setting a recovery in Eskom’s energy availability factor (EAF) to 75% as a key performance indicator (KPI) for the board and the executive is not only open to manipulation but is also the wrong measure in a context where the undermaintained coal fleet no longer offers the cheapest and quickest way out of loadshedding. In fact, energy analyst Clyde Mallinson, who has done extensive modelling of the coal fleet’s performance using Eskom data, argues that sticking with this KPI will “set Eskom up for failure” and will stymie the transition to an electricity supply industry that is able to provide reliable and affordable power for all South Africans, rather than the current trajectory that points to price and supply “bifurcation”.
November 7, 2022 by

$8.5bn ‘catalytic’ but insufficient to deliver $99bn Just Energy Transition Investment Plan

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the $8.5-bilion (R128-billion) in concessional climate financing on offer from various developed countries to South Africa will play a “catalytic” role in supporting the implementation of the country’s larger $99-billion (R1.5-trillion) Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET IP) over the coming five years. However, far more domestic and international funding is required, and the composition of that funding will also need to be more grant-heavy if the just components of the transition are to be realised. Releasing the JET IP for public comment only two days before the start of the COP27 climate talks in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Ramaphosa said that South Africa would continue to “agitate” for additional climate funding and more grant funding, including from the initial Just Energy Transition Partnership, or JETP, participants of France, Germany, the UK, the US and the European Union.
November 5, 2022 by

Expect loadshedding all weekend

Stage 1 loadshedding will continue to be implemented daily from 05:00 to 16:00 until Sunday, Eskom said on Friday. Meanwhile, Stage 2 loadshedding will also continue to be implemented daily at 16:00 to 05:00 until Monday.
November 4, 2022 by

Expect loadshedding all weekend

Stage 1 loadshedding will continue to be implemented daily from 05:00 to 16:00 until Sunday, Eskom said on Friday. Meanwhile, Stage 2 loadshedding will also continue to be implemented daily at 16:00 to 05:00 until Monday.
November 4, 2022 by

CSIR solar PV testing lab ensuring quality standards for industry

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR’s) solar photovoltaic (PV) module testing laboratory, built on site at its campus, in Pretoria, boasts equipment, expertise and capacity to undertake accelerated reliability stress testing on PV modules to ensure their quality and reliability. The South African National Accreditation System-accredited lab is able to undertake 16 testing methods.  
November 4, 2022 by

Repowering and repurposing Komati

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the $497-million loan extended to South Africa for the repowering and repurposing of the Komati power station; the main elements of the repowering and repurposing project; and whether this is the start of a funding trend for South Africa’s energy transition.
November 4, 2022 by

$497m just transition loan for Komati repowering approved by World Bank

South Africa’s request for a $497-million (about R9-billion) to decommission and repower the Komati coal-fired power plant using renewables and batteries has been approved by the World Bank Group board of executive directors. The last Komati unit was shut at midday on October 31, signalling what Eskom said would be the start of a repowering and repurposing of the site into a renewables, storage, manufacturing and training hub.
November 4, 2022 by

Ethiopia taps into geothermal riches to diversify its grid

Solomon Kebede looks concerned as he stares at the machine piercing the dark, moist soil of Ethiopia’s countryside. The drill has sunk a hole more than 450 m deep and found nothing. Yet Kebede doesn’t despair; he has faith that the heat must be there. “When drilling geothermal wells, you send your mind and heart to a place you don’t know, deep in the Earth’s core,” he says. “I’m part of the generation that’s trying to exploit these resources.”
November 4, 2022 by

Ten-week project cements supplier storage capacity

Heavy lifting and rigging specialists Lovemore Bros successfully concluded a substantial materials handling, stowage and delivery project of 73 parts weighing 307.1 t for a client based in Witbank, Mpumalanga. The project, which started in the second week of May, was finished when the last item was delivered to the Richards Bay Port on August 8.
November 4, 2022 by

Systems assist with loadshedding woes

The current energy crisis sweeping South Africa has increased the need for reserve power, whereby complete management systems can help manage different energy sources, says power management company Eaton Africa power quality product manager Jaco du Plooy. He explains that, while solar power is being used by local businesses, solar energy is limited to certain times of day when sunlight is available, thereby increasing demand for energy storage among local businesses.
November 4, 2022 by