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Global coal power grew 2% last year, the most since 2016, GEM survey says

The world’s coal-fired power capacity grew 2% last year, its highest annual increase since 2016, driven by new builds in China and decommissioning delays elsewhere, according to research published on Thursday. Despite record renewable additions, nearly 70 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power capacity were commissioned across the world last year, including 47.4 GW in China, the U.S.-based Global Energy Monitor think tank said in its annual survey. Coal-fired capacity outside China also grew for the first time since 2019, while worldwide only 21.1 GW was shut down, the survey said.
April 11, 2024 by

South African fossil fuel subsidies hit record R118bn in 2023 – IISD

A new study has found that South Africa’s fossil fuel subsidies tripled between 2018 and 2023, rising to R118-billion from R39-billion over the period, with subsidies having been increased largely in response to the surge in fuel prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Titled ‘Blackouts and Backsliding: Energy Subsidies in South Africa 2023’, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) report calculates that oil and gas subsidies more than doubled over the five years to R52-billion compared with R23-billion in 2018.
April 10, 2024 by

Hyphen deploys MetMasts to model energy yield for Namibia green hydrogen project

Green hydrogen development company Hyphen Hydrogen Energy is investing €2-million on its MetMast Measuring Campaign, which makes use of meteorological masts (MetMasts) to precisely model the energy yield of the wind and solar resources to enable the optimised design of a project it is developing near Lüderitz, in Namibia. The investment includes the deployment of ten new MetMasts and the refitting of one mast it acquired from Namibian power utility NamPower.
April 9, 2024 by

Nordex increases its generation capacity in South Africa

Turbine manufacturer Nordex Energy South Africa (NESA) says an additional 830 MW of operational capacity will start feeding into South Africa’s energy grid by mid-2025. The company on April 9 announced a 75% increase in its generation capacity in operations, as well as plans to locally manufacture concrete tower sections in the Eastern Cape.
April 9, 2024 by

Ramokgopa says ‘degree of convergence’ reached with NTCSA on unlocking private …

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reports that a “degree of convergence” has been reached between his Ministry and the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) regarding private sector participation in the electricity grid and no further Cabinet approval is required ahead of implementation. Speaking at one of his regular updates on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan, Ramokgopa said Cabinet had given its approval for him to proceed, together with the NTCSA, on finalising a model to unlock private financing for the expansion and modernisation of the grid, which had become an impediment to the integration of new generation capacity.
April 9, 2024 by

Eskom aims to keep breakdowns below 14 GW this winter as it cuts diesel budget

State-owned electricity utility Eskom will reduce planned maintenance to 3 000 MW during the upcoming winter season and will seek to keep unplanned breakdowns to below 14 000 MW in a bid to navigate the high-demand period with limited loadshedding. During the summer period, from September to the end of March, the utility  set a target of restricting unplanned breakdowns to 14 500 MW during the high-maintenance summer months, when average planned maintenance levels of 7 000 MW were targeted.
April 9, 2024 by

Africa Data Centres breaks ground on new solar farm in the Free State

Technology group Cassava Technologies subsidiary Africa Data Centres (ADC) has broken ground on the construction of a solar farm in the Free State in collaboration with solar power company Distributed Power Africa (DPA) Southern Africa. The first phase will entail the construction of a 12 MW solar plant to power ADC’s CPT1 carrier-neutral data centre in Cape Town, with subsequent phases extending to the company’s two Johannesburg data centres.
April 8, 2024 by

Sasol granted permission to use load-based limit to regulate SO2 emissions from Secunda boilers

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has granted Sasol South Africa permission to employ a load-based limit to regulate the sulphur dioxide (SO2) of its Secunda boilers in a decision upholding the JSE-listed group’s appeal of an earlier National Air Quality Officer (NAQO) determination stipulating the use of a concentration-based limit. Sasol lodged an appeal on July 31, 2023, after NAQO published a determination on July 11, 2023, stating that it was not empowered to grant permission to Sasol to apply an alternative limit for SO2 after a once-off postponement had already been granted to the Secunda operations.
April 8, 2024 by

Eskom defends pollution record, saying it’s spending billions

South Africa’s State power utility, stung by reports about the health impacts of emissions from burning coal, said it’s spending billions of dollars to reduce them and has an ambitious target to reduce output of one of its most dangerous pollutants. Eskom Holdings said it’s committed to a R67-billion plan to cut emissions and by 2035 aims to reduce its output of particulate matter by 70%.
April 8, 2024 by

Globeleq says R5.7bn Red Sands will be largest standalone battery storage project in Africa

Leading African independent power producer Globeleq says the 153 MW/612 MWh Red Sands project, which was recently awarded preferred bidder status under South Africa’s inaugural battery storage public procurement round, will be the largest standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) in Africa and will carry an investment value of R5.7-billion. It is smaller than the 225 MW/1 140 MWh BESS deployed at Scatec’s Kenhardt project, also in the Northern Cape. However,  Kenhardt is a hybrid solar-battery project developed under the separate Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, which requires the plant to produce 150 MW of dispatchable electricity daily from 5:00 until 21:30.
April 5, 2024 by