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South Africa’s solar PV value chain must develop quality culture – Juwi

By 2030, total installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity in South Africa is expected to reach 8 400 MW; however, to ensure sustainable growth, the country has to develop and implement quality infrastructure for these systems, says Juwi Renewable Energies MD Richard Doyle. “Embedding a culture of quality is vital if we want to unlock the huge economic potential of solar technologies,” he notes.
January 21, 2022 by

Treasury gazettes renewable energy premium notice

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has published a notice regarding the renewable energy premium in the Government Gazette. The purpose of the notice is to facilitate Section 6(2) of the Carbon Tax Act, which makes provision for taxpayers conducting electricity generation activities to offset the costs of buying additional renewable electricity against their carbon tax liability for the first phase of the carbon tax, until December 2022.
January 21, 2022 by

Globeleq’s Malindi solar plant providing 40 MW of clean energy to Kenya grid

The 52 MW Malindi solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, in Langobaya, Kenya, has been exporting 40 MW of power into the national grid since December 14. The $69-million solar plant, developed by independent power producer (IPP) Globeleq and its project partner Africa Energy Development Corporation (AEDC), is made up of 157 000 PV panels and is one of the first IPP-owned utility-scale solar plants in Kenya, as well as the only renewable power plant located in the coastal area.
January 21, 2022 by

SA’s aggressive decarbonisation strategy to start

South Africa is planning to source 41% of its total energy supply from renewable energy –including solar photovoltaic (PV), wind, hydropower and concentrating solar thermal power components – by 2030, which energy solutions provider Energy Partners Intelligence head of business development Tygue Theron says is an aggressive decarbonisation strategy.
January 21, 2022 by

Firms and households tap rooftop power as load-shedding risk lingers

Improving technologies, which reduce deployment costs, as well as lower tariffs and thousands of hours of sunshine every year, along with the continued challenges of State-owned power utility Eskom’s load-shedding, will likely drive more citizens and businesses to adopt solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to meet their electricity consumptions needs. Despite the prevalence of some barriers, including municipal capacity constraints, processes, policies and regulations and illicit operators, as well as the upfront costs needed to deploy solar-based power systems, that hamper the acceleration of the sectors’ growth, adoption of solar PV technology is on the rise.
January 21, 2022 by

Eskom seeks to show prudency of running diesel plants as its pegs cost of load-shedding at R9.53/kWh

State-owned electricity producer Eskom sought to demonstrate the economic prudency of running the diesel-fuelled open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) harder to mitigate load-shedding during the fourth day of National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) public hearings into its latest allowable revenue application. Eskom is seeking allowable revenue of R293.4-billion for 2022/23, which would result in a 20.5% tariff hike from April 1 if granted.
January 20, 2022 by

Renewable alternatives critical to support Mpumalanga’s decarbonisation drive

The transformation and decarbonisation of the South African energy system is gathering momentum; however, a regional plan is required for the coal mining region of Mpumalanga, to prevent considerable economic and socioeconomic losses and ensure a just transition, and a push for renewable energy in the province has the potential to achieve that transition. This is according to the South Africa Benefits study report: “From coal to renewables in Mpumalanga: Employment effects, opportunities for local value creation, skills requirements, and gender-inclusiveness”, which was published on January 18.
January 20, 2022 by