Entries by

Stage 2 load-shedding to continue throughout the week

Power utility Eskom has announced that, owing to insufficient generation capacity and the inability to replenish emergency reserves over the past weekend, Stage 2 load-shedding will continue to be implemented throughout the week of November 8 to 13. Eskom notes that, on November 7, a unit each at the Medupi and Matla power stations had tripped.

Namibia selects preferred bidder for pioneering $9.4bn green hydrogen project

The Namibian government has stolen a hydrogen march on its larger neighbour South Africa announcing at COP26 the selection of HYPHEN Hydrogen Energy as the preferred bidder for a $9.4-billion green hydrogen project to be developed in the Tsau //Khaeb National Park, near the coastal town of Luderitz, in southern Namibia. HYPHEN is a joint venture between Nicholas Holdings Limited, a strategic investment and infrastructure project developer, and ENERTRAG South Africa, a unit of an independent German energy company that has a portfolio of renewable energy projects and which has also been producing green hydrogen since 2011.

South Africa tests market appetite for creation of gas import hub at Coega

A request for information (RFI) has been issued to assess the implementation options and market appetite for the creation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import hub at the Port of Ngqura, in the Eastern Cape. The RFI is designed as an information gathering exercise to inform a future procurement programme and a deadline of 12:00 on December 3 has been set for responses.

Northern Cape-based 10 MW solar plant first to exploit broadened wheeling market

A 10 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant developed by renewable energy plant developer SOLA Group, in the Northern Cape, has reached commercial operation three months ahead of schedule, providing clean energy to Amazon Web Services through wheeling into the Eskom grid. The plant comprises over 24 000 bifacial single-axis sun-tracking modules, covering an area of 20 ha.

City of Joburg makes ready to realise waste-to-energy projects

The City of Johannesburg is considering waste-to-power projects to generate electricity, particularly in times of load-shedding. Environment and Infrastructures Services deputy director Mvuselelo Mathebula mentions in a press statement that key projects have been lined up to divert waste from landfill sites by recycling and using it to generate electricity.

Exxaro is open for green business as it participates in COP26

Diversified miner Exxaro Resources, geared with both a Sustainable Growth and Impact Strategy and A Climate Change Response Strategy, hopes to garner investor interest at this year’s COP26 climate change summit.    The company has been setting out to become a principal driver of the just energy transition in South Africa over the past few years, all while targeting carbon neutrality by 2050.

Amendments demand stringent compliance

With the new amendments to the Carbon Tax Act earmarked to pave the way for developing a national standard to approve offset carbon positive projects and administer these projects on a national database, Economic Development Solutions (EDS) head of business development Eckart Zollner says compliance by companies nationally is important to participate in global markets.

Funding Africa’s $2.8tr net-zero transition by 2050 a ‘pressing issue’

Funding Africa’s transition to net zero by 2050 is one of the most pressing issues that Africa and the world must address, PwC states in a new report that estimates the cost of such a transition to be about $2.8-trillion. The ‘Africa Energy Review 2021’ calculates that $33-billion would be required yearly between 2020 and 2030 to place Africa on a path to a net-zero energy mix by 2050. Yearly costs would then rise substantially to $111-billion between 2030 and 2040 and to $142-billion between 2040 and 2050.