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SE4ALL launches campaign to help drive reliable energy supply

International organisation Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) has launched a new year-long campaign called “Be Bold” to drive ambitious action towards Sustainable Development Goal number seven (SDG7), which calls for affordable and reliable energy for all by 2030.

The campaign follows the realisation that affordable and clean energy for all can help alleviate the global crises of extreme poverty and climate change.

March 16, 2021 by

SMEs in renewable sector receives leg-up from TDB

The Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) on March 15 launched an off-grid facility for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The $75-million facility is aimed at facilitating access to debt financing for SMEs, primarily targeting renewable energy businesses in the off-grid energy sector, as well as SMEs in the broader infrastructure value chain operating in the region served by TDB.

March 16, 2021 by

The world’s three biggest coal users get ready to burn even more

The world’s three biggest consumers of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, are getting ready to boost usage so much that it’ll almost be as if the pandemic-induced drop in emissions never happened. US power plants are going to consume 16% more coal this year than in 2020, and then another 3% in 2022, the Energy Information Administration said last week. China and India, which together account for almost two-thirds of demand, have no plans to cut back in the near term.
March 16, 2021 by

Rolls-Royce-led consortium joins European nuclear industry group

The UK Small Modular Reactor (UKSMR) consortium, which is led by industrial technology group Rolls-Royce, has joined European nuclear industry association Foratom. This is part of UKSMR’s objective of developing global connections and accessing export markets. UKSMR is designing an SMR nuclear power plant that would be constructed from standardised components manufactured in factories, using advanced manufacturing processes. This approach would drive down costs and rapidly speed up construction times, as the SMR and its associated plant would be delivered to the construction site in modular and component form and there assembled under a weatherproof canopy.
March 16, 2021 by

Maintenance progress alone insufficient to eliminate load-shedding risk amid 4 GW deficit

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter insisted on Monday that, despite a recent return to load-shedding, progress was being made on the utility’s so-called reliability maintenance programme to improve the performance of the coal fleet to the point where the risk of rotational power cuts would be materially reduced by September. He stressed, however, that the load-shedding threat would not be entirely eliminated until the prevailing generation supply shortfall of some 4 000 MW was addressed through large-scale new investments in generation capacity – a shortfall that would expand should the South Africa economy begin growing again.
March 15, 2021 by

30 MW solar plant to be commissioned in Burkina Faso

A new 30 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant is due for construction near the town of Pâ, in Burkina Faso and will supply all the electricity it produces to Burkina Faso’s national power utility – La Société National D’électricité Du Burkina Faso (Sonabel).

Urbasolar was selected as the developer and operator following a competitive tender process run by Sonabel, with construction of the plant scheduled to be completed within 18 months.
March 15, 2021 by

Opinion: Is load-shedding here to stay?

In this opinion piece, South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) GM Barry Bredenkamp writes about steps electricity users can take to reduce demand as load-shedding continues. Since Eskom cannot meet the country’s demand for electricity, load-shedding is likely to be with us for the rest of the year, at least. However, there are steps every electricity user can and should take to decrease demand for electricity and thereby reduce the risk of load shedding.
March 15, 2021 by

Eskom to extend load-shedding to Wednesday

Eskom announced on Sunday that stage 2 load shedding will be extended to 05:00 on Wednesday following the loss of further generation capacity and to replenish emergency generation reserves. The power utility said it regrets having to take this step, but it is due to generation capacity still being severely constrained.
March 15, 2021 by

Global summit to boost clean energy momentum

International energy and climate leaders from the world’s largest economies will take part in the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Conference of the Parties 26 (COP26’s) Net Zero Summit later this month to accelerate the momentum behind clean energy and examine how countries could work together more effectively to reduce their greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions to net zero in line with shared international goals. Co-hosted by IEA executive director Fatih Birol and COP26 president Alok Sharma, the Net Zero Summit is a critical milestone on the road to COP26 in Glasgow in November.
March 12, 2021 by