The European Investment Bank (EIB) has extended a €200-million loan to the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to support the delivery of 1 200 MW of distributed renewables generation by private investors. The financing package, which is the largest-ever extended by the EIB to South Africa, was signed on Friday by EIB VP Ambroise Fayolle and DBSA CEO Patrick Dlamini on the side-lines of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
As world leaders fete President Cyril Ramaphosa for his green agenda in Egypt, his minister of mineral resources and energy insisted this week that coal will continue to play a critical part in electricity generation in South Africa. Gwede Mantashe believes coal, along with gas, nuclear and hydropower should be the main baseload. Ramaphosa submitted South Africa’s R1.5 trillion investment plan to use less coal to a group of rich countries this week – to a rapturous response from the UK, US, Germany, France and the EU at the COP27 climate talks in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
Novel financing solutions were needed to help businesses and individual customers buy and install solar energy solutions, financial institution Nedbank Commercial Banking transformation and sustainability head Mark Boshoff said during a webinar on solar energy and its future in South Africa hosted by Nedbank and energy solutions company AW Power on November 10. He said alarming price escalations over the past few years in solar energy solutions for businesses and individual citizens of the country necessitated a creative strategic approach to creating funding solutions for customers.
With South Africa diversifying its energy mix, as it looks to mitigate loadshedding and to meet 2030 and 2050 carbon emissions reduction targets, alternative industry players like green hydrogen and biogas, offer potential; however, there are also challenges to contend with in pursuing these energy sources. This was indicated by speakers at industry body the South African National Energy Association’s (Sanea)’s 2022 Conference on November 11.
Two truck drivers contracted to Eskom were arrested at Kendal Power Station after they were found in possession of stolen coal. The drivers were arrested on Wednesday night and a criminal case of theft of coal was registered with the Ogies police station, Eskom said in a statement.
State-owned power utility Eskom says two truck drivers contracted by it were arrested at the Kendal power station, in Mpumalanga, on November 10, after they were found to be in possession of stolen coal.
A criminal case of coal theft has been registered with the Ogies police station.
Industrial valves and pumps specialist Brimis Engineering was awarded a major service contract for the maintenance, refurbishment and testing of boiler safety valves for a power generating plant near Middleburg, in Mpumalanga, last month. The company says the maintenance contract is due to run until late 2025 or until the end of the station’s plant’s life, whichever comes first.
While the implementation of energy efficiency measures reduces demand on South Africa’s fragile power system, the climate change agenda continues to significantly influence corporate South Africa’s efforts in this respect, says renewable-energy solutions company Solareff – a member of nonprofit organisation the Green Building Council South Africa. “No one can argue the legitimacy of climate change any longer. It’s happening and is a big driver. Employing energy efficiency measures is the right thing to do from a climate perspective because if everyone fails to act now, the planet will not be preserved for future generations,” notes Solareff CEO Jaco Botha.
The City of Cape Town (CoCT) is working on diversifying its energy resources to significantly reduce its reliance on struggling State-owned power utility Eskom in the next two years and, thereby, the impact of loadshedding on its customers. The municipality intends to end loadshedding for customers and offer more affordable, cleaner energy, and is on track to become a shining light of energy diversification in Africa, says CoCT Energy MMC Councillor Beverley van Reenen.
It is important that local municipalities manage South Africa’s available power supply as efficiently as possible by adopting smart-grid enabling products, as the country continues to battle electricity generation constraints, especially with President Cyril Ramaphosa having stated that loadshedding is not expected to end any time soon. Municipalities need to be in a position to accurately meter and recover the cost of supplying electricity and limit the losses associated with illegal connections and inefficient equipment by procuring equipment capable of capturing data that reflects the state of their systems, says energy management and automation specialist Schneider Electric Anglophone Africa power systems VP Vladimir Milovanovic.
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