he chair of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Professor Mark Swilling, says that the task set for the new board of Eskom to achieve an energy availability factor (EAF) of 75% is completely impossible. Speaking at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation (KMF) forum on inclusive growth in the Drakensberg on Saturday, Swilling, who is also a member of the National Planning Commission (NPC), made the point that half of SA’s 90 electricity generation units were out of service due to breakdown in September, triggering stage 6 loadshedding.
The High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Pretoria Judge EM Kubushi has handed down an order stating that the Guideline and Benchmarking Methodology adopted by regulatory authority the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in approving municipal electricity increases, is unlawful. The October 20 judgement states that the Guideline and Benchmarking method, used by Nersa when approving municipal electricity tariffs, as set out in the record of decision issued by Nersa and entitled ‘Determination of the Municipal Tariff Guideline and Revision of Municipal Tariff benchmarks for the 2021/22 financial year’, and as extended to the 2022/23 municipal year, is hereby declared unlawful, invalid and of no force and effect.
Global demand for platinum group metals (PGMs) is forecast to taper off beyond 2030, despite a robust outlook for increasing automotive sales, according to platinum group metals producer Impala Platinum (Implats) corporate affairs executive Emma Townshend, who addressed a PGMs students colloquium hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, in Pretoria, on October 20. “Legislation is shifting more from focusing on engine-out emissions to decarbonisation, resulting in very strict government policies that are forcing the adoption of electric fleets – and battery electric vehicles don’t need PGMs,” she explained.
Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest person, is in exploratory talks for a giant renewables project in Morocco, which would aim to supply electricity and emissions-free fuel to Europe. Adani’s coal-to-ports conglomerate is considering building wind and solar generation plants in the North African nation and facilities to produce green hydrogen for export, according to people familiar with the proposals and who requested anonymity to discuss private details.
Logistics company DHL is expanding and refining its development of an end-to-end electric vehicle (EV) battery logistics supply chain solution to bridge the gap between moving EV battery materials and finished products between manufacturing plants.
The increase in demand for battery logistics solutions is being driven by a variety of pressures; while in Africa the move to EVs in the two-wheel, three-wheel and public transport markets is part of a global shift to alternative fuels.
Global solar leasing platform Sun Exchange has announced that South African automotive platform Cars.co.za has bought into a project that provides off-grid solar power, as well as battery storage, to the Karoo Fresh commercial farm. By using the Sun Exchange platform to buy more than 16 000 solar cells, valued at more than R2.5-million, Cars.co.za says it hopes to leverage its balance sheet to drive sustainable energy, while also creating an alternative income stream for its business over the 20-year life span of the solar project.
Zero Carbon Charge (ZeroCC) is unashamedly pro-electric vehicle (EV), but believes that driving an EV only makes a difference when charged by renewable energy. ZeroCC director Andries Malherbe says that charging an EV using the conventional energy on tap in South Africa – in other words, Eskom power, generated from its fleet of coal-fired plants – will do very little to alleviate the poor air quality in the country.
Deploying “cutting-edge” solutions at South Africa’s water treatment plants will assist the country in mitigating the severe impact of natural disasters, such as the drought in Nelson Mandela Bay, in the Eastern Cape, and the flooding in KwaZulu-Natal, while addressing the poor state of infrastructure, says technology company ABB Power and Water local division sales manager Joyce Moganedi. Considerable capital is being pumped into managing the effects of these disasters, with provincial capital Bisho allocating R10.5-million towards Eastern Cape drought relief during the 2021/22 financial year, and former KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala stating that R30-million was allocated to restore water supply following floods in the province.
The Water Technologies Demonstration Programme (Wader) has invested about R43.5-million in 46 projects from 2015 to 2022 as the technology arm of the National Water Research, Development and Innovation Roadmap. The Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) has been the primary funder of the programme and has invested close to R39-million, says Water Research Commission (WRC) Wader manager Dr Manjusha Sunil.
Financial services company Nedbank, through its London branch, has signed and closed a $350-million sustainability-linked syndicated term loan facility, with a margin contingent on the company’s performance in terms of two internal key performance indicators, namely renewable energy consumption as a percentage of the total energy consumption and reduction of total Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The proceeds will be used for the refinancing of the remaining balance outstanding under the $500-million syndicated term loan facility dated November 5, 2019, of which $250-million was prepaid in 2021, as well as general corporate purposes, the bank said on October 20.
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