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Earth & Wire unveils R500bn plan for 20 GW renewables fleet by 2035

Emerging South African energy group Earth & Wire, which aims to sell electricity directly to private customers, is positioning itself to build a 20 GW portfolio of grid-connected wind and solar projects by 2035 at an estimated cost of R500-billion. Business development head Thomas Garner, who is also chairperson of the South African Independent Power Producers Association, reports that the company has secured over 400 000 ha of signed agreements with landowners on properties with sufficient solar and wind resources to meet the company’s target of supplying 30% of South Africa’s new electricity capacity by 2035.
November 16, 2021 by

Bring on non-binary debates for a redefined, realistic just transition, says WCA

A binary, this-or-that debate on technology for a just energy transition is unhelpful and does not consider the unique circumstances for each country in the pursuit of carbonisation, the World Coal Association (WCA) argues. The association’s stance is that it will respect coal users and non-coal users alike, since energy affordability, reliability and development are the key considerations to ponder, and these will differ for each country in the world, WCA CEO Michelle Manook tells Mining Weekly.
November 16, 2021 by

Big business says Eskom resignations would only ‘make a bad situation worse’

Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) says it disagrees with those calling for the resignation of Eskom CEO André de Ruyter and his leadership team following the most recent intense period of load-shedding. In a statement, BLSA noted that the State-owned utility had had ten CEOs in ten years, creating instability that “only served to make a bad situation worse”.
November 15, 2021 by

South Africa must pursue interventions to mitigate energy crisis, BLSA says

While South Africa is on the road to long-term energy stability as business and independent power producers (IPPs) begin construction on various embedded generation projects, the country is probably two years away from a major change in the electricity supply scenario, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso writes in her weekly newsletter. “Despite progress in opening the way for private companies to more easily build plants up to 100 MW and [a resumption in the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP)], we are facing unprecedented levels of load-shedding, severely disrupting business and our daily lives,” she says.
November 15, 2021 by

UK’s Johnson calls COP26 climate agreement ‘game changing’

The agreement reached Saturday at global climate talks in Glasgow will be pivotal in the fight to stop global warming, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

The conference hosted by the UK produced a “game-changing agreement that the world needed to see,” Johnson said at a press conference in London on Sunday.

Negotiators from almost 200 countries clinched a deal that broke new ground in the fight against climate change, but punted the hardest decisions into the future.​​

November 15, 2021 by

CSIR says fall in renewables tariffs points to need for higher deployments

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) says the tariffs achieved during the fifth bid window of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) confirm its previous analysis showing that renewable energy is the lowest cost generation option available for South Africa. In late October, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe announced the names of 25 preferred bidders to build 13 wind and 12 solar projects with a combined capacity of 2 583 MW.
November 12, 2021 by

Western lithium-ion supply chain weakness to slow EV adoption – GlobalData

Data and analytics company GlobalData reports that a weakness of lithium-ion battery materials in Western countries is set to impede electric vehicle (EV) adoption and serve to demonstrate China’s dominance of the EV market.

China dominates the lithium-ion battery supply chain, specifically in terms of battery cells, cathode and anode production and chemical refining.

November 12, 2021 by

De Ruyter sees transparency as key as Eskom walks load-shedding tightrope

As Eskom exited one of its most intensive periods of load-shedding on Friday November 12, CEO Andre de Ruyter promised greater transparency in future on both the state and performance of the power system given the likelihood that the risk of disruption will persist for the coming three to four years. The State-owned utility suspended its latest bout of load-shedding – initially implemented at Stage 2 on November 5, but then swiftly escalated to Stage 4 before being trimmed back to Stage 2 almost a week later – early on Friday morning.
November 12, 2021 by

Minerals Council welcomes focus on structural reforms in MTBPS

The country requires a continued focus on stabilising the nation’s public finances and, most importantly, the critical need to implement more aggressive structural and institutional reforms that can drive up investment and inclusive growth in the economy, the Minerals Council South Africa says. It adds that, in its view, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has delivered on these critical issues in his maiden Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).
November 11, 2021 by