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First skid delivered to Free State client

Prefabricated deployment solutions developer Turnkey Modular rolled out the first of multiple solar alternating current (ac), low-voltage/medium-voltage, step-up skid or ‘E-Houses’ in July for chemicals and energy company Sasol Chemicals Midlands, in Sasolburg, in the Free State. The skid will be coupled to Sasol’s 10 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, which forms part of the company’s broader greenhouse gas emission reduction strategy.
September 8, 2023 by

Solar, wind energy to drive growth in input materials

Solar, wind and battery storage are essential to the low-carbon energy transition and there is likely to be greater demand for input materials used in these sectors in the years ahead. This was noted by Fitch Solutions business unit BMI Research’s Group Power and Low Carbon Energy analyst David Thoo, speaking during the company’s ‘Global Renewables Capex Trends: Effects on Solar, Wind and Battery Storage’ webinar, on September 7.
September 7, 2023 by

Kenhardt hybrid plant to prove competitiveness of dispatchable renewables – Scatec CEO

The global head of renewable-energy group Scatec is “extremely enthusiastic” about the market opportunities in South Africa, where he says variable wind and solar generation offer the cheapest and quickest route to injecting electricity into the loadshedding-prone grid. It is also where the company is building an enormous hybrid project that is poised to demonstrate the competitiveness of solar and batteries relative to conventional dispatchable technologies that take far longer to deploy.
September 7, 2023 by

G7 Renewable Energies withdraws case against Eskom’s interim grid rules

G7 Renewable Energies has withdrawn its High Court review against Eskom’s Interim Grid Capacity Allocation Rules (IGCAR), following what it describes as “meaningful industry engagements” that have resulted in an “amicable resolution”. On June 17 Eskom unveiled the interim rules, which sought to address the prevailing scarcity of grid connections by shifting the allocation methodology from the ‘first come, first served’ approached that had applied previously to a ‘first ready, first served’ arrangement.
September 7, 2023 by

Discovery Green platform will link, build renewable generation for business demands

The newly launched Discovery Green platform will link renewable energy production with business demands with the aim to create an aggregated, diversified and reliable energy marketplace. It will provide enrolled businesses with renewable energy by 2026, enabling them to significantly reduce their emissions and helping to address the national shortfall in electricity.
September 6, 2023 by

Rise in planned maintenance, spike in breakdowns trigger ‘unwelcome’ Stage 6 return

Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has attributed the “unwelcome” resumption of Stage 6 loadshedding, during which business and residential areas experience rotational cuts for as much as half of the hours in the day, to a combination of higher planned maintenance and a spike in unplanned breakdowns. During a virtual briefing convened after Eskom reported that it would implement Stage 6 until further notice, Ramokgopa reported that Eskom had started ramping up planned maintenance as it exited the high-demand winter period, during which such outages had been capped at 2 500 MW.
September 5, 2023 by

Solar energy company launches ambitious minigrid rollout initiative for Africa

US-based rural Africa and Asia-focused net-zero energy company Husk Power Systems (Husk) announced on Tuesday the launch of its “Africa Sunshot” solar minigrid roll-out initiative. The initiative was launched at the Africa Climate Summit, currently under way in Nairobi, Kenya. Africa Sunshot is intended to achieve the creation of 2 500 net-zero solar energy minigrids to generate electricity for African communities with no, or only weak, connections with power transmission grids, within five years. The initiative will be funded by $500-million in equity and debt that Husk expects to mobilise.
September 5, 2023 by

Ramokgopa working with DMRE to have updated IRP released for consultation soon

Although persisting with his position that he has the powers to determine the sources of new generation, Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says because the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s (DMRE’s) updating process is well advanced, he is supporting the department in preparing to release the new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for public consultation soon. Responding to questions on the IRP during his weekly briefing on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan, Ramokgopa said he would be part of the “Ministerial team” that is currently finalising the document ahead of its approval for release.
September 2, 2023 by