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Institutions call for more awareness on skills development in the solar sector

The decommissioning of coal-fired power stations without repurposing of labour will considerably exacerbate the unemployment crisis in South Africa and, therefore, workforce relocation and the associated skills development it calls for, needs to be considered ahead of time.

Energy & Water Sector Education Training Authority CFO and acting CEO Mpho Mookapele stated this during the virtually held Solar Power Africa conference on November 17.

November 17, 2020 by

Eskom moves to finalise just energy transition framework as shutdown of Grootvlei, Komati and …

State-owned power utility Eskom expects to complete its socioeconomic impact studies by the end of March for the planned shutdown of the Grootvlei, Komati and Hendrina power stations, in Mpumalanga, which are the first of ten coal plants scheduled for decommissioning by 2040. The decommissioning of the three power stations is anticipated to take place over the coming five years and Eskom has initiated a process to assess the potential for ‘repowering’ some of the stations using alternative generation technologies, including renewables, gas, biomass, battery storage and hydrogen.
November 17, 2020 by

World Bank helps South African govt develop energy efficiency financing mechanisms

The World Bank has provided a $305 000 grant for South Africa to develop a study on sustainable financial mechanisms for demand-side energy efficiency market transformation.

The beneficiaries of the study, the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), will use the study to identify and develop appropriate financing mechanisms.

November 17, 2020 by

Municipalities have integrated 282 MW of embedded power and see benefits in embracing transition

A total of 29 South African municipalities have already approved tariff frameworks for small-scale embedded generation (SSEG), with 282 MW of mostly rooftop solar capacity having be formally integrated into municipal networks, the South African Local Government Association (Salga) reports. The actual figure is likely to be significantly larger, but many SSEG facilities have not been registered with either a municipality of the regulator.
November 16, 2020 by

Kangnas Wind Farm starts commercial operations

The Kangnas Wind Farm on November 15 achieved its commercial operations date, making it the first Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) Bid Window 4 wind farm in the Northern Cape to come on stream.

Construction started in June, 2018 but was halted by the national Covid-19 lockdown, as were many other wind farm projects, only starting again after May 19.

November 16, 2020 by

Opinion: Breathing fresh air into old coal power stations

In this opinion piece, Wärtsilä South African business development manager Wayne Glossop writes about the benefits of converting old coal-fired power plants to modern gas engine power plants. AGL Energy Limited undertook a successful transformation of an old coal plant to a modern flexible gas engine power plant to support more renewables into the South Australian power system
November 13, 2020 by

Eskom ordered to rectify pollution issues at three power plants

Eskom Holdings, South Africa’s state power utility, was ordered to comply with pollution limits at three of its coal-fired plants this year while two more are being investigated, the government’s environment department said in its first disclosure about most of the orders. The violations listed in the National Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Report 2019-20 include excessive emissions of particulate matter and groundwater pollution. The violations and orders are as follows:
November 13, 2020 by

Vivo sees growth potential for hybrid fuel, solar energy solution in Africa’s mining sector

Vivo Energy, which sells and distributes Shell- and Engen-branded fuels and lubricants in Africa, believes it will be able to transform how energy is supplied to mines across the continent. It announced last month that it had reached an agreement to supply Canadian mining company Robex Resources’ Nampala gold mine, in Mali, with a hybrid fuel and solar energy solution for a period of five to fifteen years.
November 13, 2020 by