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Mantashe says De Ruyter is not the right CEO to fix Eskom – report

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has questioned the skills of Eskom CEO André de Ruyter, saying he isn’t the type of leader Eskom needs at the moment.  In an interview with the Mail & Guardian, the minister, who is also the national chairperson of the African National Congress, said that the power utility currently needs a “fixer”, and De Ruyter isn’t necessarily that person due to a skills mismatch.
July 22, 2022 by

Bioeconomy could support S Africa’s energy needs

Amid unstable power supply, the development of a wood bioeconomy could help support South Africa’s energy needs while ensuring that the country meets its carbon emission reduction targets, says University of Pretoria Graduate School of Technology Management senior lecturer Schalk Grobbelaar. The country intends to limit greenhouse gas emissions to between 398 t of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) and 510 t CO2-e by 2025 and to between 350 t CO2-e and 420 t CO2-e by 2030.
July 22, 2022 by

S Africa offers pragmatic solution but still far from sustainability

While South Africa offers the rest of Africa practical examples of sustainable infrastructure development, there is still much that needs to be done before the country achieves a sustainable transition, says Stellenbosch University Centre for Sustainability Transition professor Desta Mebratu Belay. The country is reaching for a more sustainable future, but two years after Cabinet approved 62 strategic infrastructure projects (SIPs), including in the energy, water and sanitation sectors, almost one-quarter of these projects, worth R340-billion, were delayed or on hold as of late May.
July 22, 2022 by

To capitalise on green transition, Africa urged to add value to critical minerals

The global transition to a lower-carbon environment presents Africa with an opportunity to boost its economies, including the mining and industrial sectors, as well as beneficiation capabilities and job creation, by playing a greater role in supplying the so-called green minerals required for low-carbon technologies. Green minerals are those used in vast quantities in modern electric systems, such as renewable-energy products, batteries and power distribution, and include copper, cobalt, lithium, manganese, graphite and nickel.
July 22, 2022 by

Telemetry critical for sustainable water infrastructure development

Digitally transforming water supply and treatment plants can elevate the water and wastewater sector’s operational effectiveness for increased sustainability, says energy management and automation specialist Schneider Electric Anglophone Africa software leader Johan Potgieter. In South Africa, the provision of essential water and wastewater services is significantly challenged, while rapid population growth and urbanisation boost demand, owing to ageing infrastructure, rapid technology change, industrial shifts, increasingly stringent regulations and intensified environmental concerns about water treatment systems, he notes.
July 22, 2022 by

Technology beneficial for lighting sector

Technological advancements have become prominent in commercial and industrial lighting applications, which has created additional benefits for the sector, says lighting manufacturer Regent Lighting Solutions MD Randal Wahl and technical sales manager Chris Gijzelaar. Technological trends include high-tech control systems, Bluetooth applications, near-field communication (NFC), emergency lighting, flexible lighting systems, light control using lenses to project light where required, tuneable white and circadian-rhythm lighting (human-centric lighting, or HCL), as well as dark light for low glare application.
July 22, 2022 by