Amaranth CX compiles all energy information of SAPP on single platform

Consultancy Amaranth CX has put together all available information on South Africa’s renewable energy projects on a platform called 1Map, including existing power stations and substations, transmission lines, environmental applications, strategic corridors and renewable energy development zones, farm boundaries and protected areas.

The information covers all 12 countries of the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP), incorporated on 1Map’s online, browser-based, cloud-hosted and multi-layer map.

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Gauteng premier wants Soweto’s Eskom debt of close to R5bn written off

After government’s commitment to pay billions to settle Sanral’s e-toll debt, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi also wants Soweto’s debt to Eskom – nearly R5-billion – scrapped.  “Minister [Enoch] Godongwana, we truly appreciate how you respect negotiations. Can we safely assume that the Soweto Eskom electricity debt and that of other townships is also scrapped as per our intensive lobby?” Lesufi tweeted on Friday.
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Stage 2 loadshedding is back this week, Eskom confirms

Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 05:00 on Monday until 05:00 on Tuesday, and again during the evening peaks from 16:00 until midnight on Tuesday and Wednesday, Eskom said on Sunday afternoon. “Eskom will publish a further update on Wednesday afternoon, or as soon as there are any significant changes,” spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said.
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Will grid, logistics and construction constraints stymie urgent wind energy ramp-up?

In light of ongoing grid constraints, some wind industry practitioners are warning that only about 2 GW of the 3.2 GW wind allocation in Bid Window Six (BW6) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) is likely to be taken up, given that lower-priced solar photovoltaic projects could absorb a portion of the remaining available network in the key wind provinces of the Eastern and Western Cape. There are also warnings that South Africa’s logistics and …
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Loadshedding to be suspended at midnight, but Stage 2 planned for next week

Loadshedding will be suspended at midnight on Friday, Eskom said. This is thanks to lower weekend demand. But Stage 2 loadshedding will continue until 16:00, which will increase to Stage 3 until midnight on Friday. 
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Amendment Bill to realise embedded capacity

The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill is expected to realise significant local embedded generation capacity growth by removing the cap on the licensing threshold, but the current version of South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is a limiting factor. The amendment of Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA) that lifted the licensing threshold from 1 MW to 100 MW had an enormous impact on the local electricity supply industry when it came into effect in August last year, says law firm Webber Wentzel partner Jason van der Poel. 
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Windaba panel asks: Jobs first, or energy first?

Manufacturing is responsible for only one-third of jobs within the wind energy sector, says Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Africa area director Marcel Cabral. Speaking at Windaba 2022, held earlier this month, during a panel discussion around localisation in the wind sector, Cabral noted that the other two-thirds revolved around the development, construction, running and maintenance of wind farms, and that “South Africa has all the resources for that”.
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Loadshedding impacting on embedded generation uptake

While loadshedding is driving the uptake of embedded electricity solutions, it is also deemed obstructive by renewable-energy solutions company Solareff, owing to the financial implications for clients seeking to invest in large, industrial rooftop or ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. “We need our clients to be in a financially sound position and loadshedding has a negative effect on most clients’ finances. However, demand is substantial in light of the continued intermittent power supply and the high cost of electricity, as companies are now realising that embedded solar generation is the most cost-effective option,” Solareff CEO Jaco Botha tells Engineering News.
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CoCT ahead in SSEG capacity locally

While the City of Cape Town’s (CoCT’s) small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) capacity is ahead of the curve compared with other local municipalities, there is still a lot of work to be done, says CoCT Energy MMC Councillor Beverley van Reenen. “With State-owned power utility Eskom’s incredibly precarious position, every bit helps, but SSEG’s impact on the electricity supply deficit would be greater at household level if households have storage capacity. If the SSEG uptake country-wide is drastically upscaled, it holds the potential to reduce the demand on the grid.
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Eskom’s new grid plan says 53 GW of new generation must be connected by 2032

Eskom’s latest Transmission Development Plan (TDP2022) includes assumptions that deviate materially from those contained in the outdated Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 (IRP2019) and points to the need for a significant acceleration in grid-related investments to facilitate the integration of 53 GW of new, mostly renewables, generation capacity over the next ten years. Covering the period from 2023 to 2032, the latest edition of the plan, which is published yearly, points to the need for the construction of 14 218 km of new high-voltage transmission lines over the period.
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