Author Archive for: Engineering News

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter reports that action will be taken against management at some power stations after an unexpectedly sharp deterioration in the performance of certain coal-fired generators on Monday, which precipitated the re-introduction of load-shedding only 24 hours after rotational cuts were initially suspended. Load-shedding was re-instated at 21:00 on Monday February 7 after full and partial unplanned breakdowns surged to nearly 16 000 MW at a time when more than 3 300 MW was down for planned outages.

With advances in storage technology, one of the biggest challenges to realising the full potential of renewables – the intermittent nature of the sources – can be mitigated, offering solar (PV) operators the chance to generate value and make solar power a mainstream option, says PV industry body the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association spokesperson Frank Spencer.

He will moderate an upcoming panel discussion at Solar Power Africa – a three-day conference to be held in Cape Town from February 16 to 18 – which includes expert insights from Davin Chown of Genesis Eco Energy and Kaloyan Dimov of SolarMD.

Electricity utility Eskom insists that it has a pipeline of generation, transmission and distribution projects that it could start implementing immediately should it secure access to “finance, human resources and expedited regulatory approvals”. During a recent interview, Andre de Ruyter told Engineering News that the lion’s share of the $8.5-billion in climate finance offered to South Africa should, once converted into transactions, be directed to Eskom, largely because the utility’s projects were at a more advanced stage than the alternatives and were “in some instances, shovel-ready and good to go”.

Diversified professional services firm Ernst & Young Africa CEO Ajen Sita has criticised “vague” government policy on tackling Covid-19, calling for more clarity to steer South Africa out of crisis and towards economic recovery. “We need to decide whether we are going for population immunity – which we may have already nearly achieved – or ramp up vaccination efforts once again. We need a clear strategy, and we need it soon,” he said in a statement on February 7. 

The Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) has provided a $35-million loan to Alten Kenya Solarfarms – the Kenyan business of the Alten Group – for the $87-million 40 MW Kesses solar generation facility to be built near Eldoret in the Rift Valley region of Kenya.

The first part of the loan, which is repayable over 15 years, was disbursed in late December.