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New global costs report confirms new renewables are undercutting existing coal

The cost of electricity from new solar and wind plants is increasingly undercutting the operating costs alone of existing coal‑fired power plants and strengthening the case for their early retirement, a newly released International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) report confirms. Published on June 22, the ‘Renewable Power Generation Costs 2020’ report states that over 800 GW of existing coal capacity already costs more than new solar photovoltaic (PV) or onshore wind projects commissioned in 2021.
June 22, 2021 by

Energy justice a useful metric for shaping broad, effective policies for a just transition

A just energy transition that mitigates the risks and captures the benefits of renewable energy in developing countries can be achieved through a broad policy framework developed using energy justice as a key set of metrics, say development academics University of Hamburg political science professor Franziska Müller and University of Kassel research fellow Manuel Neumann. The ‘Assessing African Energy Transitions: Renewable Energy Policies, Energy Justice, and SDG 7’ research paper explores the limitations of existing energy transition policy frameworks and how these can be augmented to ensure the developmental effectiveness of renewable energy projects and the broader transition to low-carbon and sustainable energy sources.
June 22, 2021 by

Scatec says RMIPPPP could ‘revolutionise’ the way power is generated, if successful

The Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (RMIPPPP) is a progressive step in South Africa’s energy history and, if successful, could revolutionise the way power is generated and procured in the country, suggests Scatec sub-Saharan Africa GM Jan Fourie. He notes that purely renewables-based projects, like Scatec’, offer economic benefits in that all their costs are embedded in the initial capital expenditure and that no fuel is needed to run the project, meaning that there is no commodity risk and currency risk to government and no carbon tax.
June 22, 2021 by

Civil war hardens Ethiopian Nile-dam stance, Sudan Minister says

The carnage of Ethiopia’s civil war is making its rulers less willing to compromise with Sudan and Egypt in a dispute over the imminent filling of its giant Nile dam, a Sudan official said, as his government urges the United Nations to prevent any unilateral move. With Ethiopia embroiled in an eight-month conflict in the Tigray region that’s sparked U.S. sanctions and famine conditions, authorities in the Horn of Africa country are taking a tougher line in foreign policy to bolster their domestic support, said Yasir Abbas, Sudan’s irrigation and water minister.
June 22, 2021 by

Biomass heating solution lowers costs

Cape Town-based heating solutions firm Calore Sustainable Energy (CSE) has developed a new biomass combustion technology that it claims delivers significant savings for industrial clients requiring heating solutions. Calore co-founder Davide Marchesini says that producing heat to generate hot air, hot water or steam, is a core aspect of many industries and contributes substantially to bottom-line costs.
June 21, 2021 by

PPC mulls several low-carbon opportunities as it shows signs of business stabilisation

Cementitious products manufacturer PPC is considering several initiatives aimed at lowering the carbon footprint of its operations and products as its far-reaching organisational and financial restructuring begins yielding results and creates space for the JSE-listed group to start focusing on its longer-term sustainability. CEO Roland van Wijnen tells Engineering News that several initiatives are being studied to help lower emissions at its manufacturing facilities, as well as to introduce lower-carbon products into the Southern African market.
June 21, 2021 by

Aref II secures almost half of targeted capitalisation

The Africa Renewable Energy Fund (Aref) II has concluded its first close at €125-million, following a joint investment of €17.5-million from The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa and the Climate Technology Fund through the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Aref II, a successor to the original fund, is a ten-year closed-ended renewable energy private equity fund with a $300-million target capitalisation.

June 18, 2021 by

100 MW reform ‘precursor’ to new market-driven electricity supply industry – De Ruyter

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has described the decision to lift the licence-exemption cap on own- or embedded-generation plants from 1 MW to 100 MW as not only positive for addressing South Africa’s immediate electricity shortages, but also as “the precursor to the development of a new electricity supply industry in South Africa, which is going to be driven by far greater market dynamics than has hitherto been the case”. In a virtual conversation directed by Citigroup chief country officer Peter Taylor as part of the SA Tomorrow conference, De Ruyter said the higher threshold would likely be an “important contributor to adding much-needed capacity to the grid”.
June 18, 2021 by

Fishermen, oyster farmers fear power-generating ship will kill business

A floating gas-turbine generator meant to alleviate South Africa’s crippling power cuts has run into objections by oyster farmers and small-scale fishermen, who fear the environmental damage will destroy their livelihoods. The seafood sellers fear the 415 MW ship – to be moored for two decades at Saldanha Bay, 140 km north of Cape Town – will pump hot water into the bay and make endless noise, spoiling farmed oysters and scaring off fish as Africa’s most industrialised country scrambles to fix electricity problems.
June 18, 2021 by