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SAWEM to reshape South Africa’s electricity market

South Africa is set to undergo a significant transformation in its electricity market with the introduction of the South African Wholesale Electricity Market (SAWEM), which aims to establish a transparent, non-discriminatory, multi-market trading platform that is expected to enhance energy security, attract private investment and improve efficiency in electricity trading. According to law firm Bowmans partner Alexandra Felekis, the foundation for SAWEM was laid with the issuance of the Draft Market Code by the National Transmission Company South Africa in April 2024.
April 18, 2025 by

BESS key to stabilising grid

Industrial clean energy projects specialist Energy Group is focusing on the development of battery energy storage system (BESS) solutions to address grid instability and arbitrage opportunities in South Africa. With increasing pressure on the national grid, owing to frequent loadshedding and the growing integration of renewable energy, BESS is seen as a crucial component in stabilising the grid, says Energy Group senior manager Jason Fairhurst.
April 18, 2025 by

Transmission roll-out drives local solutions demand

State-owned power utility Eskom’s ambitious plan to expand South Africa’s transmission network, which includes the roll-out of 14 000 km of new power lines over the next decade, is expected to create significant opportunities for local suppliers, such as JSE-listed Reunert, to support the project. With a strong track record, technical expertise and black economic empowerment credentials, the company played a key role in Eskom’s last major transmission roll-out in the 2000s and expects to be a key supplier again.
April 18, 2025 by

IPP shares project development insights after 15 yrs in sector

South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and the growth of its commercial and industrial renewable energy space is a good blueprint for the development of projects in the rest of Africa. “There are phenomenal opportunities for growth in the African market. There are many areas in sub-Saharan Africa that lack access to electricity and present a substantial opportunity for renewable energy to fill that void,” says independent power producer (IPP) Pele Green Energy (PGE) senior project developer Anesu Gwata.   
April 18, 2025 by

World Bank’s Banga doubles down on intent to end ban loans for nuclear power projects

World Bank president Ajay Banga on Wednesday doubled down on his push to revamp the bank’s energy strategy to end a ban on lending for nuclear power projects and enable more natural gas projects, saying he will seek executive board approval in June. The changes would mark a shift from the bank’s focus only on renewable energy projects, save for consideration for some gas projects in the poorest countries.
April 17, 2025 by

Opinion: The superpower driving the future of low-carbon electricity

In this opinion article, Sola Group executive director Dom Wills discusses how the modularity that has underpinned the rapid growth of solar PV, is also driving the sharp fall in battery costs. He argues that if this rapid progress continues, the cheapest, fastest growing form of clean electricity will gain the valuable ability to reshape itself and follow the electrical load.
April 16, 2025 by

Keren Energy on the hunt for customers for its Western Cape green hydrogen project

Keren Energy has made significant progress in the development of its green hydrogen (GH2) production facility near Vanrhynsdorp, in the Western Cape, says CEO George van Rensburg. The project aims to support South Africa’s transition to a low-carbon economy by focusing on small-scale, distributed hydrogen production, tailored for the local industrial, manufacturing, mobility and commercial sectors.
April 16, 2025 by

Exxaro views collaboration with Eskom as key to lowering of Scope 3 emissions

JSE-listed coal and energy group Exxaro Resources and State-owned electricity producer Eskom have announced they will collaborate on research initiatives and projects to reduce carbon emissions and cut air pollution. The two entities, which both have net-zero by 2050 targets, formalised their collaboration through a memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed on April 14.
April 14, 2025 by

Marokane says Eskom must be given ‘space’ to pursue renewables strategy

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane has appealed for the State-owned utility to be given “space” to implement its renewable-energy strategy, insisting that it is not designed to “crowd out” private competitors and is in line with the country’s Just Energy Transition strategy of protecting vulnerable coal workers and communities. Speaking during the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Exxaro aimed primarily at helping to support the coal miner to reduce its Scope 3, or indirect, carbon emissions, Marokane also stressed the utility’s renewables strategy would be pursued in partnership with the private sector.
April 14, 2025 by