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Electricity reforms to spur ‘boom in private fixed investment’

Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele says the reforms under way in the electricity sector – including the removal of the 100 MW licensing threshold for distributed generation projects and the expedited procurement of new capacity from renewables, gas and battery storage – will “supercharge our efforts to modernise and transform the electricity sector”. “Most importantly, these changes will create the conditions for a boom in private fixed investment in the coming years, which will lift our economic growth overall,” Gungubele said during the release of Operation Vulindlela’s latest progress update.
August 5, 2022 by

US investors visit South Africa with eye on renewable energy

US investors with more than $1-trillion of assets under management are in South Africa to look for investment opportunities. The visit being facilitated by USAID and Prosper Africa, the US government’s initiative to increase trade and investment between African nations and America, started Tuesday and will coincide with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip. Blinken arrives in the country Sunday — his second official trip to Africa. He will also visit the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
August 5, 2022 by

Solidarity sends list of 300 power experts to Gordhan, Eskom


Trade union Solidarity sent a list of skilled power experts to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and Eskom CEO André de Ruyter on August 4, following calls by Gordhan to identify energy experts to help the country address prevailing electricity generation deficiencies.

According to Solidarity, the 300 experts on its shortlist have about 5 500 years of combined experience in the industry, as well as more than 400 accredited combined qualifications of which 14 are doctorate degrees in engineering and related fields.

August 4, 2022 by

Largo Clean Energy mulls JV with Ansaldo

Canada-headquartered vanadium supplier Largo subsidiary Largo Clean Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with renewable energy company Ansaldo Green Tech (AGT) to assess opportunities for working together on manufacturing and deploying vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs).

The companies may form a joint venture (JV) to commercially deploy Largo’s “VCHARGE” VRFBs in the European, African and Middle Eastern power generation markets.

August 4, 2022 by

TNPA initiates process for possible development of greenfield Boegoebaai port

South Africa’s Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has initiated a preliminary process for the proposed development of a new deep-water port at Boegoebaai in the far Northern Cape near the Namibian border, which has been earmarked as a possible hub for the production and export of green hydrogen and derivative products. The State-owned port landlord has released a request for qualification (RFQ) for the design, funding and construction of the proposed greenfield port and rail infrastructure as a precursor to a possible future request for proposals (RFP).
August 4, 2022 by

Forgotten Zimbabwe city of Bulawayo gets a dam as elections loom

A $42-million dam a century in the making could end water shortages for more than half a million Zimbabweans — and win votes for the ruling party in an opposition stronghold that may decide next year’s presidential election. The expected completion early in 2023 of the Gwayi-Shangani dam 153 miles north west of Bulawayo is part of a strategy by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front to capture votes in the country’s long-neglected second-largest city, according to analysts. Zanu-PF has traditionally struggled to make inroads into urban areas in the province, an area dominated by the minority Ndebele ethnic group.
August 4, 2022 by

DMRE confirms Sept 22 as new deadline for submission of BW6 bids

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has confirmed September 22 as the new bid submission deadline for Bid Window Six (BW6) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme following its expansion from 2 600 MW to 5 200 MW. Prior to the doubling of the size of the round as part of a package of interventions announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on July 25, the BW6 closing date had been set as 17:00 on August 11.
August 4, 2022 by

Stage 2 load-shedding for Wed and Thurs evening

Eskom is implementing Stage 2 load-shedding from 16:00 to 24:00 on Wednesday and Thursday.  “The delay in returning a generation unit to service each at Arnot, Koeberg and the Kusile power stations, as well as the unplanned outage of a generation unit each at Camden, Medupi and two units each at Grootvlei, Hendrina and Majuba power stations, have exacerbated the capacity constraints,” Eskom said. 
August 3, 2022 by