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DTIC says to resolve Atlantis SEZ challenges

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) has committed to resolving the challenges flagged by investors during a site visit to the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (SEZ), in the Western Cape, earlier this week, Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina says. Major challenges faced by investors in the renewable energy sector that are located in the SEZ were highlighted during the visit, including concerns around policy uncertainty surrounding the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and speeding up the process of the Bid Window 5 implementation, as well as local content manufacturing on designated steel products.
June 11, 2021 by

South Africa on its way to decentralised power system – SAWEA

The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that the licensing-exemption threshold for companies to produce their own electricity will be increased from 1 MW to 100 MW. SAWEA says it views this as another indication the country is well on its way to a decentralised, and decarbonised, renewable energy generation power system.
June 11, 2021 by

Pioneers for sustainable urban regeneration

An urgent shift from traditional market practice towards the ‘green industrial revolution’ is underway, hence specialised commercial property financial services company TUHF’s advocating for the following of green and sustainable building principles in the construction and building industries.
June 11, 2021 by

Woods participation in the circular economy

The Wood Structural Engineering Department at the University of Pretoria (UP) says policy needs to be developed to ensure wood forms part of the circular economy. A circular economy is an economic developmental approach designed to benefit businesses, society and the environment. In contrast to the ‘take, make, waste’ linear model, a circular economy is regenerative and aims to gradually decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources.
June 11, 2021 by

Track S Africa’s economic recovery on Operation Vulindlela dashboard

South Africans can now track government’s progress in economic and employment growth with up-to-date information on the new Operation Vulindlela dashboard, launched this week. Operation Vulindlela was launched last year as a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to unlock key economic reforms and to fast-track the trajectory of South Africa’s policy reforms.
June 10, 2021 by

Ramaphosa moves to tackle growth-sapping electricity crisis by increasing licence-exemption cap …

In a surprise move, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday that the licence-exemption cap on self- or distributed-generation plants would be increased from 1 MW to 100 MW to help address the country’s electricity crisis, which has been weighing down economic growth and confidence for more than a decade. The increase, which would be facilitated by an amendment to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act “within the next 60 days or sooner”, exceeds calls made by organised business and labour to increase the threshold to at least 50 MW, as well as allows the so-called embedded-generation plants to both wheel that electricity through the grid and sell it to nonrelated offtakers.
June 10, 2021 by