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Nasa and US Department of Energy award contracts to develop lunar nuclear power systems

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) announced on Tuesday that three proposed design concepts for nuclear fission power on the surface of the Moon had been selected for further development. Nasa was working jointly with the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop nuclear technologies for use in space, and the three contracts, each worth some $5-million, would be awarded through the DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory. The aim was to develop initial design concepts for 40-kW class nuclear fission power plants, that would have an operational life of at least ten years. The 12-month contracts were being awarded to three consortia. They were – Lockheed Martin (consortium leader), BWXT and Creare; Westinghouse (leader) and Aerojet Rocketdyne; and IX (a joint venture of Intuitive Machines and X-Energy, and consortium leader), Maxar and Boeing.
June 22, 2022 by

De Ruyter says immediate renewable energy investment should focus on Mpumalanga

State-owned utility Eskom CEO André de Ruyter wants Mpumalanga to be the focal point for investment in renewable energy generation capacity to leverage the province’s well established transmission grid and to mitigate the potential for mass unemployment in the province as coal-fired power stations are systematically decommissioned over the next decade. While it has been well-established that the best naturally-occurring wind and solar resources in South Africa are located in the Northern Cape province, the region is poorly served by the existing transmission grid.
June 22, 2022 by

European Space Agency seeking radioactive power for space missions

Belgium-based international engineering and consultancy group Tractebel has been selected to head a research and innovation consortium, designated Pulsar, to conduct research into dynamic radioactive power systems (RPS), on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA). The RPS being researched would be powered by plutonium-238 (Pu-238). Tractebel was previously awarded a contract by ESA to investigate the practicality of producing Pu-238 in Europe. Pu-238 is not suitable for use in nuclear weapons and most Pu-238 produced over the years (all in Russia or the US) has been used to power spacecraft. The new ESA contract complements, and takes forward, that work.
June 22, 2022 by

Final Just Energy Transition Partnership Investment Plan expected by November

A Just Energy Transition Partnership Investment Plan (JETP-IP), which will seek to unlock $8.5-billion in concessional climate finance to accelerate South Africa’s transition from coal to renewables and support workers and communities currently reliant on the coal value chain, is expected to be finalised by October for sign-off during the COP27 climate talks in Egypt in November. The JETP-IP, a first draft and revision of which are expected in July and September respectively, is viewed as the crucial next step in the conversion of a Political Declaration signed at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, last year between South Africa, and the International Partners Group (IPG) of France, Germany, the UK, the US, and the European Union.
June 22, 2022 by

Stage 2 load-shedding times extended – Eskom

Eskom will implement Stage 2 load-shedding between 10:00 and midnight on Wednesday, and between 05:00 and midnight from Thursday to Sunday. The power utility said the load-shedding was due to the breakdown of four generation units on Wednesday morning, which contributed to the capacity constraints. 
June 22, 2022 by

Operation Vulindlela making progress in driving priority structural reforms

The Presidency’s Operation Vulindlela (OV) has made markable process on accelerating implementation of priority structural reforms since its establishment in October 2020. Presidency project management office head Rudi Dicks addressed delegates during the Manufacturing Indaba, held in Sandton on June 21, highlighting that much of the constraints mentioned by the private sector within the manufacturing sector, including load-shedding and freight issues, are within the focus areas of OV.
June 21, 2022 by

South Africa transmission firm seen hobbled by Eskom millstone

South Africa’s plan to create a power transmission company that will attract the investment needed to strengthen the national grid has been hobbled by its restrictive debt arrangements with parent Eskom Holdings, two people familiar with the situation said. Under the plan to separate the unit, which Eskom presented to its creditors on June 10, the national power utility will extend a R39.9-billion loan to the National Transmission Company of South Africa, or NTCSA. That funding will be guaranteed by the NTCSA’s assets if Eskom, which is R396-billion in debt, doesn’t meet its own obligations.
June 21, 2022 by

Patel says ‘pragmatic solution’ to be found to localisation-linked delays to renewables roll-out

Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel reports that government is working to find a “pragmatic solution” to the problem where local-content requirements contained in government’s electricity procurement programmes are delaying the construction of utility scale renewable-energy projects. “I’ve asked the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) team to meet with the energy team to see how we can ensure that our localisation goals don’t retard the development of green energy, and that we find ways to speed up processes,” Patel said in response to a question posed by Engineering News on the side-lines of the Manufacturing Indaba.
June 21, 2022 by

Hyve Group opens Johannesburg office

International exhibition and conference organiser Hyve Group has opened a Johannesburg office as a means to enhance its presence in South Africa and expand opportunities for South African citizens.

Hyve Group, which employs over 650 people in 12 offices globally, organises over 50 trade exhibitions and conferences in 11 countries and more than 20 technology-enabled meeting programmes a year.
June 21, 2022 by