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Power hike could surge beyond the 10% hinted to by Nersa as Eskom hunts R23bn more in courts

South Africans should brace for power hikes of about 10% this year after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) finalised a court-ordered re-adjudication of Eskom’s previous applications. However, the increase could be materially higher should Eskom prevail in its legal endeavour to have a portion of a R69-billion equity injection added immediately to its allowable revenue. Nersa announced on January 28 that the utility was entitled to recover an additional R6-billion through the electricity tariff following its re-adjudication of three regulatory clearing account (RCA) applications for the 2015 to 2017 financial years and a supplementary tariff application for the 2019 financial year.
January 28, 2021 by

Stellenbosch municipality to consider alternate energy sources

Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities Minister David Maynier and Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Minister Anton Bredell have welcomed a decision by the Stellenbosch municipal council to consider generating and using alternate electricity energy supplies to beat load-shedding and become more energy resilient. “Through the Municipal Energy Resilience (MER) Project, the Western Cape government will be supporting the Stellenbosch Municipality in its aim to become energy resilient. The MER project is spearheaded by our Green Economy unit at the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, which is working in collaboration with the Department of Local Government and Provincial Treasury to assist municipalities to take advantage of the new energy regulations, which may include purchasing of energy directly from independent power producers (IPPs),” they say in a joint statement.
January 28, 2021 by

CSIR, Nedbank join RES4Africa to further renewable energy development

Pretoria-based research organisation the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and financial services provider Nedbank have become members of renewable energy lobby organisation the Renewable Energy Solutions for Africa (RES4Africa) Foundation.

Their membership was approved and made official by RES4Africa’s steering committee, following a solid working relationship established between RES4Africa, CSIR and Nedbank over the past few months.

January 28, 2021 by

Motsepe’s AREP acquires 40% stake in SOLA Group

African energy company African Rainbow Energy and Power (AREP), which was founded by Dr Patrice Motsepe, has expanded its investment in the renewables sector with the acquisition of a strategic stake in the SOLA Group. The companies joined forces at the end of 2020, with AREP acquiring a 40% stake and becoming the largest individual shareholder in the group. The deal also includes a significant investment into the group to fund further expansion.
January 28, 2021 by

Global coalition formed to drive net-zero shift in hard-to-decarbonise transport and industrial …

A new global partnership has been formally launched in an effort to accelerate the decarbonisation of seven heavy industrial and transport sectors that together represent 30% of global greenhouse-gas emissions and where carbon-abatement pathways have yet to be defined. Known as the ‘Mission Possible Partnership’ it will focus specifically on the transportation sectors of aviation, shipping and trucking, as well as the aluminium, cement, chemicals and steel industries.
January 27, 2021 by

50 MW De Wildt Solar farm enters commercial operation

The De Wildt Solar farm, situated within the Madibeng local municipality, close to the town of Brits, in the North West province, on January 23 entered into commercial operations, having achieved facility completion.

This 50 MW photovoltaic project is the fourth utility-scale plant that has come on line in the North West in under five months, helping to make the province a serious player in the renewable energy sector. All four projects are 100% South African-owned and do not only deliver much needed power to the country’s national grid, but also provide benefits to the local rural communities through impactful economic development programmes.

January 27, 2021 by

Energy efficiency incentive applications surged in lockdown, says Sanedi

South African businesses are increasingly prioritising energy efficiency as they seek to navigate a more challenging business environment, with energy bills continuing to rise and carbon tax now a reality. The South African National Energy Development Institute (Sanedi) reports that it has seen an increase in the number of Section 12L Energy Efficiency Tax Incentive applications since March last year. 
January 27, 2021 by

Transitioning fossil-fuel labour forces into new sectors critical for ‘clean, just energy …

The chair of a new global commission established to offer governments guidance on making their energy transitions more “people-centred” says that the creation of green jobs and the transitioning of existing fossil-fuel labour forces into new sectors will be “key factors for a clean, just energy transition”. Danish Energy and Climate Minister Dan Jørgensen, who chairs the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) new global commission on people-centred clean energy transitions that is being led by Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, said on Tuesday that it was not enough to show that green industries were more job-intensive than the oil, gas or coal sectors.
January 26, 2021 by

SA plans three renewable energy rounds over coming year

South Africa plans to launch three procurement rounds for 6 800 MW of renewable energy over the next year, as well as a combined 5 000 MW of new coal, gas and storage, a presentation by the governing African National Congress (ANC) showed. The presentation, made at a three-day meeting of party officials and allies that ended on Sunday and shared with Reuters by two sources, showed the ANC planned to launch the first renewables round in January or February for 2 600 MW of wind and solar, with another 2 600 MW round in August and a third for 1 600 MW in January or February 2022.
January 26, 2021 by

Eskom approaches court to have R23bn equity injection added back this year

State-owned electricity utility Eskom will make the case later this month for the immediate execution of a High Court order stipulating that an amount of R23-billion stripped unlawfully from its allowable revenue in 2019 by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) be added back during its 2021/22 financial year. Should it succeed, the standard average electricity tariff would rise by 15.6% on April 1, instead of the 5.01% already sanctioned by Nersa.
January 26, 2021 by