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Hunt on for ‘tens of billions’ more, as ABB agrees to repay R1. …

Eskom and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) announced on Friday that an agreement had been reached with ABB South Africa in terms of which the multinational technology group would repay R1.56-billion to the State-owned utility to settle an overpayment dispute relating to a corrupt Kusile contract awarded in 2015. Eskom would, however, request the National Treasury not to blacklist ABB as a contractor, as the control and instrumentation (C&I) package in question was 90% complete and the appointment of a replacement contractor could delay the already-delayed Kusile by a further four years and raise the threat of standing-time claims from other contractors worth up to R1-billion.
December 11, 2020 by

ChromeSA welcomes negotiated electricity pricing concession

Independent chrome ore producers group ChromeSA has welcomed the finalisation by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) of a short-term framework for negotiated pricing agreements, which will allow companies negatively affected by the high costs of power to negotiate lower electricity tariffs with those entities who supply their power. “This welcome move by government will provide critical support to our colleagues in the ferrochrome industry, who have highlighted the desperate impact that escalating power costs have on their ability to compete in global markets.
December 11, 2020 by

Power4Less offers rent-to-own solar solutions

Black-owned and women-led solar company Power4Less, which was launched earlier this year by Juliet Mwakutuya, Dineshree Naidu and Nafeesa Fareed, aims to supply rent-to-own solar solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger company. “From our experience South African businesses are embracing solar solutions from SMEs to large corporates,” Fareed says.
December 11, 2020 by

South Africa’s renewables plan presents ‘remarkable’ industrialisation opportunity

The roll-out of renewable energy at the scale envisaged in South Africa’s official electricity plan to 2030 presents a “remarkable” industrialisation opportunity, the leader of the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) project team, Francis Jackson, argues. Jackson, who is also a GreenCape special adviser, cautions, however, that the local industrial capacity built between 2010 and 2015 – when South Africa was procuring new capacity on a regular basis under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) – has since been downscaled and will have to be rebuilt.
December 11, 2020 by

REIPPPP requires more traction to address challenges

The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) continues to take years to move through the various phases – from initiating tenders to delivering energy to the end-user – which, considering the challenges that South Africa is facing, is a luxury the country cannot afford, says technology provider NEC XON alternative energy sales head Wessel Wessels.
December 11, 2020 by

Wind association lauds S Africa govt’s policy progress

The South African Wind Energy Association (Sawea) has applauded the South African government for the progress made in policy over the last 12 months, beginning with the gazetting of the Integrated Resource Plan 2019 (IRP 2019) and all the hard work done, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, to ensure its commitment to the stabilisation of future growth for the renewable power sector.
December 11, 2020 by

Flagship project set to demonstrate flexibility, convenience of procuring independent power

A flagship renewable energy project, commissioned by Amazon and to be rolled out by SOLA Group, is set to demonstrate the flexibility and convenience of procuring independent power through the electricity grid. The project will see 28 GWh of solar energy wheeled via State-owned power utility Eskom’s grid from a solar farm in the Northern Cape to Amazon’s facilities each year.
December 10, 2020 by

Standard Bank publishes climate-change-mitigating fossil fuels financing policy

Financial services company Standard Bank Group has published its Fossil Fuels Financing Policy (FFFP) as part of its efforts to improve its management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and contribute to the sustainable development of Africa.
 
This follows the 2019 adoption of policies on lending for coal-fired power projects and coal mining operations specifically.
December 10, 2020 by