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South Africa seeks to make climate finance deal global benchmark

South Africa’s planned $8.5-billion climate finance deal with some of the world’s richest nations could serve as a blueprint for other coal-dependent countries, the head of its negotiating team said. The potential funding, which will be made available over three to five years, was announced at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in November. Under the arrangement, the US, UK, Germany, France and European Union plan to provide finance to help the country cut its use of coal, which is used to generate more than 80% of its electricity.
May 4, 2022 by

Sasol completes Ressano Garcia gas-to-power divestment

Chemicals and energy multinational Sasol says it has completed the divestment of its shareholding in the 175 MW gas-to-power plant Central Térmica de Ressano Garcia (CTRG), in Ressano Garcia, Mozambique, effective April 29. In December 2020, Sasol announced that a sale securities purchase agreement had been signed with Azura Power for the divestment of Sasol’s equity interest in CTRG.
May 3, 2022 by

DMRE details fresh electricity procurement delays in briefing of lawmakers

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) told lawmakers on Tuesday that the postponement of financial close on 25 wind and solar projects selected as preferred bids in October was the result of delays in the issuance of budget quotations from Eskom for connection to the grid. Bid window five (BW5) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) was scheduled to close at the end of April, but the decision to delay the signing of power purchase and implementation agreements was confirmed by the IPP Office on April 28.
May 3, 2022 by

Cold boxes being precooled in preparation for gas

JSE-listed Renergen reported on May 3 that it was making “strong” progress in terms of the commissioning of Phase 1 of the Virginia gas project, which comprises exploration and production rights of 187 000 ha of gas fields across Welkom, Virginia and Theunissen, in the Free State. Cold boxes – which are self-supporting structures that protect cryogenic equipment such as heat exchangers, core-in-drums, distillation columns, piping, valves and instrumentation – are currently being purged and pre-cooled using liquid nitrogen, which is an important process in preparing the units for acceptance of gas from
May 3, 2022 by

Rich nations scramble to seal coal transition deals before COP27

As they prepare for the next round of global climate talks in November, officials from rich countries are trying to pull together a series of multibillion-dollar packages to help poor countries phase out coal. But negotiations have been snarled by national politics and Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has made the dirtiest fossil fuel a lucrative commodity to mine and export, according to people familiar with the talks who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.
May 3, 2022 by

Wind energy association pushing sector industrialisation by advocating for more local manufacturing

Industry association the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) is pushing for sector industrialisation by advocating for increased local manufacturing and, through SAWEA Manufacturing and the Local Content Working Group, the industry has set unambiguous local manufacturing targets with a specified timeframe, the organisation says. “SAWEA reiterates that its approach to the industry’s growth is to persistently deliver new wind power generation to the grid responsibly and sustainably, which should be aligned to the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM), which falls under the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition- (DTIC-) led industrial strategy,” it adds.
April 29, 2022 by

Police recover stolen copper in Devland, Johannesburg

The South African Police Services (SAPS) raided the premises of a scrap metal dealer in Devland, near Johannesburg, and found a large cache of stolen copper cables. Working on a tip-off, the police officers searched a property and discovered copper cables belonging to Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Eskom and City Power.
April 29, 2022 by

Eskom sets up project team to deal with Zondo report recommendations

Power utility Eskom has announced that it has established a project team, supported by its internal and external lawyers, to review the report issued by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture and to ensure appropriate actions are taken to address the recommendations made in the report. The Presidency on April 29 received the fourth part of the report, with two of the four volumes related to Eskom.
April 29, 2022 by