Municipal electricity distribution in the spotlight
Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the OECD’s findings on electricity reform in South Africa, as published in its latest survey of the South Africa economy.
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Cape Town’s own-build solar plant on track for year-end completion
The City of Cape Town’s Atlantis solar PV plant has, to date, seen the installation of around 2 400 solar panels out of the planned 12 850 panels as part of this R200-million renewable-energy project. The plant, with an initial capacity of 7 MW, will be connected to the local grid by the end of the year.
Global energy investment to reach record $3.3tr this year
Global energy investment is set to increase to a record $3.3-trillion this year, despite headwinds from elevated geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) latest yearly ‘World Energy Investment’ report. The report, which provides key insights on the latest investment trends across the global energy landscape, finds that investment in clean energy technologies, such as renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency and electrification, is on course to hit $2.2-trillion this year.
Gas users call for fiscal guarantees to advance gas-cliff avoidance projects to …
Industrial Gas Users Association South Africa (IGUA-SA) CEO Jaco Human has called for the urgent finalisation of a fiscal guarantees framework to help progress, to a “transactional level”, the infrastructure required to mitigate an impending gas supply crisis. In a presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy, Human welcomed recent shifts in government thinking regarding the future role of gas, including using gas-to-power (GtP) projects to anchor demand for the importation of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
African economies need to spend one-third of their GDPs by 2030 to meet renewable energy SDGs, …
Frontier economies, mostly located in Africa, would need to spend one-third of their GDP by 2030 to achieve renewable power generation goals under the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) scenario, compared with about 11% of GDP for other emerging markets and 4% for G7 economies, credit rating agency S&P Global president Yann Le Pallec has pointed out. “We need to address the transition and adaptation financing gap in low-income countries, which, in our view, is a major issue. Absent a strong global mobilisation from all stakeholders, the financing gap will continue to grow,” he said on June 4 at the 2025 S&P Global Ratings’ South Africa Conference, in Johannesburg.
Godlimpi defends Transformation Fund while admitting it’s no empowerment ‘silver bullet’
While defending the controversial launch of a R100-billion Transformation Fund, Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister Zuko Godlimpi has also urged lawmakers not to view the proposed instrument as a “silver bullet” for all the prevailing problems associated with the implemention of broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) policies. Much of the criticism of the fund has hitherto centred on the potential for creating a new avenue for corruption by establishing a State-led fund, as well as whether an aggregated fund would prove more effective than the individual efforts of private companies seeking BBBEE credit for their enterprise supplier development (ESD) investments.
‘Landmark’ Discovery Green offtake deal with Red Rocket unlocks 150 MW wind project
Electricity trader Discovery Green has signed a power purchase agreement with Red Rocket that unlocks the second phase of the independent power producer’s (IPP’s) 150 MW Overberg Wind Farm, located 12 km west of Swellendam in the Western Cape. The offtake agreement is the first to be concluded by Discovery Green, which is part of the larger JSE-listed Discovery Group.
Mulilo and Scatec emerge as preferred bidders for R9.5bn battery storage projects
Independent power producers (IPPs) Mulilo and Scatec have been named as preferred bidders to develop 616 MW/2 464 MWh of new battery storage capacity at a cost of R9.5-billion across five substation sites in the Free State province. Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa made the announcement following the conclusion of the third bid window of South Africa’s Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, which was launched on March 28 last year.
From geological data to policy, Africa still has big critical-minerals gaps to close
As the world shifts towards a low-carbon future in response to unrelenting climate change, demand is surging for minerals essential to this transition, many of which are found in abundance across Africa, which boasts an estimated one-third of the reserves. But growing attention is turning to a critical question: Can the continent turn this natural wealth into a lever for its own development, while securing its place as a key supplier to global markets? In an analytical note, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that the continent stands to generate cumulative revenue of about $2-trillion from the four main critical minerals – copper, critical for electrification; nickel, key for battery cathodes and stainless steel; and lithium and cobalt, both critical for battery manufacturing – over the next 25 years.
GE Vernova leads Africa’s energy revolution
Energy equipment manufacturing company GE Vernova caught up with Engineering News on the sidelines of Enlit Africa 2025 in Cape Town to discuss the role that GE Vernova plays in the global energy sector. “GE Vernova supports the entire electricity value chain from generation to distribution, focusing on decarbonisation and electrification,” GE Vernova Grid Solutions commercial director for power transmission in sub-Saharan Africa Eric Amoussouga said during the interview, highlighting the profound impact of the company on Africa’s energy landscape.
