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Eskom should not probe CEO over racism allegation, advocate says

Eskom Holdings CEO Andre de Ruyter should not be subjected to an investigation over racism allegations leveled by the company’s now fired chief procurement officer, an advocate hired to make a ruling on the CPO’s conduct said. By setting up the probe in response to allegations leveled by the CPO, Solly Tshitangano, Eskom’s board demonstrated “weakness,” Advocate Nazeer Cassim said in a ruling that led to Tshitangano’s dismissal on May 28. Cassim found the CPO guilty of charges related to a fuel-oil supply deal with Econ Oil & Energy that Eskom says was fraudulent.
May 31, 2021 by

Competition Tribunal approves two separate renewable energy transactions

The Competition Tribunal has unconditionally approved two mergers, by the same acquiring firm in the renewable energy sector after determining that both transactions are unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in any relevant market, or have a negative impact on the public interest.

The acquiring firm – Revego Africa Energy Fund Partnership, a limited partnership, represented by Revego General Partner (RF) in its capacity as general partner – is a South African company.

May 28, 2021 by

Davies calls for a New Deal-style recovery strategy that eschews austerity

Former Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies is urging the South African government, in which he served as a Cabinet Minister from 2009 to 2019, to implement a New Deal-style recovery programme to address the economic damage arising from both Covid-19 and more than a decade of economic drift. Speaking during a recent virtual launch of his new book, Davies cautioned that a retreat to austerity could result in a long and politically destabilising period of stagnation. The recovery effort, he said, had to be of a scale commensurate with the economic damage inflicted by the pandemic to avoid widening inequality and a deepening of poverty.
May 28, 2021 by

Irena to launch latest version of data platform

As resource assessment continues to be a challenge in renewable energy project development processes, the extensive research in resource data and improved modelling approaches have led to the development of better high-resolution resource data, the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) says.

Irena will launch its Global Atlas for Renewable Energy 4.0 on May 31, which serves as a free online resource data repository and assessment platform.

May 28, 2021 by

AfDB provides $140m loan for Tanzania hydropower project

Finance institution the African Development Bank Group and the government of Tanzania have signed loan agreements totalling $140-million to finance the construction of the 50 MW Malagarasi hydropower plant in Western Tanzania. The agreements cover a $120-million sovereign loan from the bank and $20-million from the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF), which is administered by the bank.
May 28, 2021 by

UK researchers announce major advance in developing practical nuclear fusion reactors

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has announced the successful testing of a new concept on its MAST Upgrade experiment, which could remove one of the major problems in the development of nuclear fusion energy. Currently, the world derives nuclear power from fission, which involves, to simplify, the ‘splitting’ of atoms. Fusion would generate nuclear power by smashing atoms together (which is what happens in stars and which gives them their energy). A major problem is the removal of …
May 27, 2021 by

South Africa’s about-turn on solar panels raises industry ire

South Africa’s plans to buy emergency power, already the subject of a court challenge, face fresh controversy after a local-content requirement for solar-panel frames was scrapped subsequent to the award of the tenders. The 65% local-content requirement on aluminium frames for photovoltaic panels was waived by South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition on May 12. That followed an application by ARTsolar, which along with a local unit of China’s Seraphim Solar will be the only beneficiaries of the exemption.
May 27, 2021 by