Author Archive for: Engineering News

Assurance, advisory and tax services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reports – through its newly released Africa Oil & Gas Review, titled Energising a New Tomorrow – that the rampant spread of the Covid-19 pandemic globally has resulted in galvanising of commitments to a green energy transition.

PwC energy strategy and infrastructure director James Mackay says the Covid-19 pandemic has played “havoc” in global economies and energy markets, with oil being shown to be particularly vulnerable. “In response, the developed world has accelerated the renewable energy transition through greening policy, economic stimulus and investment.”

South Africa emerged as the second worst performer of the G20 non-Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (non-OECD) member countries, according to a November 10 report, titled ‘Doubling Back and Doubling Down: G20 Scorecard on Fossil Fuel Funding’.

The report ranks countries according to seven indicators – transparency, pledges, public money for coal, oil and gas, fossil fuel-based power (both production and consumption), as well as how support has changed over time.

New additions of renewable-energy capacity worldwide will increase to a record level of almost 200 GW this year, shrugging off the demand slump that accompanied the Covid-19 crisis and which negatively affected the demand for fossil fuels. In addition, a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report points to an even stronger growth trajectory for the coming five years, underpinned by ongoing cost reductions and sustained policy support. The IEA, critics caution, has historically underestimated the growth of renewables and overestimated the role of fossil fuels and nuclear.

Rolls-Royce, the UK-based global industrial technology group, announced on Monday that it has signed its second Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in two days. This second MoU is with predominantly State-owned Czech electricity utility CEZ, which is one of the ten largest energy companies in Europe and has operations in six European countries in addition to the Czech Republic. Rolls-Royce is leading an industry consortium (known as UKSMR), backed by the British government, to develop SMR nuclear power plants (NPPs), to be built for the UK itself and for export. The aim is to use advanced manufacturing techniques to produce the modules (which will make up the NPP) in factories and assemble them on site, within weatherproof canopies, all of which will serve to reduce costs.

The Eskom Political Task Team has agreed that all avenues should be explored to deal with the utility’s debt challenge, including dealing with the underlying causes; for example inefficiencies, cost overruns, misappropriation of funds, cash losses due to unpaid debt by municipalities and other entities, as well as tariff determinations from the regulator to allow the utility to recover relevant costs. During a meeting convened and chaired by Deputy President David Mabuza on November 6, a progress report was received on the debt owed by municipalities to Eskom.