Author Archive for: Engineering News

Six organisations representing professionals in the country’s nuclear sector jointly staged a public demonstration in Pretoria on Saturday in support of nuclear technology and the expansion of the South African nuclear sector. The demonstration was carried out in full compliance with anti-Covid-19 safety protocols, including physical distancing, frequent use of sanitiser and the wearing of masks. The organisations concerned were Nehawu Nuclear Energy Workers (Nnewo), the Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa, the South African Vest Group, the South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society, the Southern African Radiation Protection Association, and Women in Nuclear of South Africa. The slogan for the demonstration was “Stand up for nuclear!”

Bokamoso Solar, situated near Leeudoringstad, in the North West province, has started commercial operations. The 67.9 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant and several others currently under construction are expected to have put the North West on the map as a player in the renewable energy sector, not only in terms of delivering additional power to the country’s national grid, but also benefitting the rural communities through impactful economic development programmes.

Cameroon will build a $3-billion hydropower plant as part of an ambitious plan to make the central African nation an exporter of electricity by 2035. The 810 MW Grand Eweng project on the Sanaga river, a joint venture between the government and the US-based energy company Hydromine, is the fifth hydro-project on the river.

Modernising the current energy infrastructure in South Africa will dramatically change the energy utility business model, says diversified power management company Eaton electrical sector Africa MD Seydou Kane. “Modernising the current energy infrastructure, gives industrial and private energy consumers access to technology that allows them to produce, store and distribute energy.”

Following Covid-19-related delays, solar energy company SustainSolar successfully commissioned its first Sustain Compact containerised solar generation unit in Mthembanji, Malawi, says SustainSolar managing director Tobias Hobbach. This solar generation unit was delivered as a minigrid under the Rural Energy Access through Social Enterprise and Decentralisation project. It was funded by the Scottish government in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and international development and emergency relief organisation United Purpose.