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Cable theft disrupts coal deliveries by rail to Majuba power station

Cable theft has critically constrained the delivery of coal by rail to the Majuba power station, as the portion of the rail network owned by State-owned power utility Eskom that feeds directly into Majuba has been severely damaged by the theft of overhead cables and critical overhead track equipment, reports State-owned Transnet Freight Rail (TFR). Eskom has been unable to restore the overhead track equipment, TFR says.
July 6, 2022 by

European Parliament endorses nuclear as a green energy, albeit on a transitional basis

The European Parliament, in a vote on Wednesday, endorsed nuclear energy, and certain gas energy projects, as green energy. The vote was actually on a motion to exclude nuclear and certain gas projects from the European Commission’s (EC’s) ‘Taxonomy Complementary Climate Delegated Act’. The motion was rejected by 328 votes to 278, with 33 abstentions, reported the European Parliament press office. The inclusion of nuclear and certain gas projects in the EC green energy taxonomy could still be vetoed by the European Council, which is composed of the Heads of State and/or Government of all the member states of the European Union (EU). According to the Reuters news agency, it would require 20 of the 27 members states to vote against the Complementary Delegated Act to veto it. The news agency described such an eventuality as “very unlikely”.
July 6, 2022 by

South Korea re-emphasises nuclear power in new energy policy

The Republic of (South) Korea’s (ROK’s) new administration (inaugurated in May) has announced a new energy policy which re-emphasises the importance of nuclear energy for the country, World Nuclear News has reported. New President Yoon Suk-yeol had promised to reverse the nuclear phase-out policy of his predecessor, President Moon Jae-in, which had been adopted on the latter’s inauguration in 2017, as a reaction to the Fukushima Daiichi crisis in Japan in 2011. The new policy aimed to ensure that nuclear power provided at least 30% of the country’s energy mix. The target date for achieving this was 2030. This would be achieved by completing nuclear power plants (NPPs) now under construction, and safely extending the lives of existing NPPs.    
July 6, 2022 by

NPC calls for declaration of ‘energy emergency’ to facilitate rapid building of generation …

The National Planning Commission (NPC) has called for the declaration of an ‘energy emergency’ to override any red tape currently preventing the construction of new electricity capacity, as well as to make it possible to build 10 000 MW of new generation and 5 000 MW of new storage capacity over the coming two years. “The most immediate priority is to ensure that new generation capacity is rapidly and urgently brought onto the grid, together with significant new storage capacity.
July 6, 2022 by

Just Transition Framework means South Africa can ‘proceed apace’ with $8.5bn partnership

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the publication of the Just Transition Framework will enable South Africa to “proceed apace with harnessing the benefits” of the Just Energy Transition Partnership concluded with the US, the UK, Germany, France and the European Union in late 2021. The partnership includes an offer of $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.
July 5, 2022 by

Drakenstein municipality explores IPP procurement to combat load-shedding

The Drakenstein municipality in the Western Cape – encompassing Paarl, Wellington, Mbekweni, Gouda, Saron, Hermon and Simondium – reports that it is exploring the procurement of electricity from independent power producers (IPPs) to mitigate the negative impact of ongoing load-shedding by Eskom. Executive Mayor Alderman Conrad Poole reports that, working together with the Western Cape government, Drakenstein is investigating a combination of renewable energy resources, such as solar and wind, as well as using gas instead of electricity.
July 5, 2022 by

Unions set to sign 7% Eskom wage offer

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) have accepted Eskom’s one-year 7% wage deal in principle and will sign an agreement to this effect imminently. This comes after a several-week deadlock in wage talks at the Central Bargaining Forum, which triggered protest disruptions at various Eskom plants and plunged the country into Stage 6 load-shedding for the second time in the power utility’s history.
July 5, 2022 by

Roll-Royce SMR reveals shortlist for site of first factory to make major reactor components

Rolls-Royce SMR, a subsidiary company of the UK-based global major power and propulsion systems group Rolls-Royce, has announced its shortlist of locations to build its first factory (of three) that will produce the components for its small modular nuclear reactor (SMR). The Rolls-Royce SMR company was set up by the Rolls-Royce-led SMR consortium, the other members of which were (and now shareholders in the company are) Assystem, Atkins, BAM Nuttall, Jacobs, Laing O’Rourke, the (UK) National …
July 5, 2022 by