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Eskom returns two units to service at Kendal

State-owned power utility Eskom has advised that Units 2 and 3 of the Kendal power station, in Mpumalanga, will be returned to service early this week, following a fire over the weekend.

The two units were shut down after damage was incurred to Unit 1’s generator transformer.

September 13, 2021 by

Bids sought for socioeconomic study into Eskom’s coal repowering and repurposing plan

A global coalition set up to support countries in implementing the carbon-reduction pledges contained in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) has announced that it will fund a study to assess the socioeconomic impacts of the shutdown, repowering and repurposing of seven Eskom coal-fired power stations. Following a request for assistance from South Africa’s Department of Fisheries, Forestry and the Environment, the NDC Partnership has launched a request for proposal (RFP) for the study, which it says will offer “support for South Africa’s just energy transition”.
September 13, 2021 by

Zimbabwe utility to cut power by 12 hours a day amid shortage

The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution said Sunday it has begun daily 12-hour power cuts due limited generation at its thermal plant and repairs on the dam at Kariba Hydro Power Station. The company “is experiencing a power shortfall due to generation constraints at Hwange Power Station, limited imports and a program of dam wall rehabilitation at Kariba,” ZETDC said in an emailed statement.
September 13, 2021 by

Green Connection calls for scrapping of the RMIPPPP

Nonprofit organisation Green Connection believes the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) has failed in its objective to get power onto the grid. Green Connection strategic lead Liziwe McDaid says the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy ought to scrap the programme.
September 10, 2021 by

Opinion: African power project boon?

In this opinion piece, law firm Bowmans head of banking and finance Shamilah Grimwood-Norley, writes about the power supply challenges in Africa and how governments are increasingly looking to private sector investment to improve electricity supply.
September 10, 2021 by

DNG welcomes postponement of hearing into Karpowership’s RMIPPPP award

Gas-to-power solutions provider DNG Energy has welcomed the decision of the Hight Court in Pretoria to grant its request for the postponement of an application to have the selection of Karpowership South Africa as a preferred bidder in the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) set aside. DNG embarked on legal action in April, alleging corruption in the bidding process. Karpowership and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy have denied the allegations.
September 9, 2021 by

Policy improvements needed to scale up global wind energy installations – GWEC

While offshore wind capacity grew steadily in 2020, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) advises that governments will need to act decisively to improve policy in order to scale up installations at the pace required to help the world meet its carbon emissions targets and avoid the worst effects of global warming. According to the GWEC’s flagship ‘Global Offshore Wind Report 2021’, launched on September 9, the global offshore wind industry installed 6.1 GW of capacity in 2020, down slightly from a record 6.24 GW installed in 2019.
September 9, 2021 by

World nuclear energy use to grow over next 20 years, requiring increased uranium mining

The World Nuclear Association (WNA) has forecast that worldwide nuclear energy generation capacity will grow by 2.6% a year over the next 20 years. The prediction is contained in the WNA publication The Nuclear Fuel Report: Global Scenarios for Demand and Supply Availability 2021-2040, which was launched on Thursday. Currently, nuclear energy produces some 10% of global electricity, but the role of nuclear is expected to grow, because it is a near-zero carbon emissions technology. In capacity terms, as of the middle of this year, nuclear provided 394 GWe, generated by 442 reactors. Another 60 GWe of capacity, or 57 reactors, was currently under construction.
September 9, 2021 by

Eskom unbundling fails to cut solvency risk, Futuregrowth says

Futuregrowth Asset Management said that despite efforts to make South Africa’s Eskom Holdings profitable, including a process of unbundling its divisions into separate entities, “the core problem of debt” has yet to be addressed. The utility that reported a fourth straight full-year loss on Aug. 31 has very high finance costs on a debt pile of about R400-billion. Eskom expects to separate its transmission division from the utility by the end of the year, with generation and distribution units to follow in 2022.
September 9, 2021 by