Development finance institution the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed a collaboration agreement with the Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectric Project Implementation Office (GMNK) to develop a 1 500 MW hydropower project and associated transmission facilities to increase access to clean energy in Mozambique and other Southern African countries. The estimated $4.5-billion project will comprise a dam, a power station and a high-voltage transmission infrastructure of 1 300 km from the project site, in the Tete province, to the capital Maputo, and is scheduled for completion in 2031.
Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tshipane has welcomed the participation of mining companies and other local businesses in the two-day Energy Summit held in the province this week, saying it was important that these companies had joined discussions on how to implement a just energy transition. Addressing delegates at the summit, in Emalahleni, she said the provincial government was working closely with stakeholders such as power utility Eskom on a just transition programme. “Our intention is that such partnerships must assist, not only the transition to a carbon-neutral economy but also increase much-needed energy security through fostering renewable energy production, repurposing power stations and explore ways for creating opportunities for small businesses and decent work,” she added. The Premier acknowledged that there was concern that communities in the province would feel the ramifications of the shift away from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources.
The City of Johannesburg will issue a request for proposals (RFP) for the procurement of electricity from independent power producers in three months, Executive Mayor Mpho Phalatse announced in her closing address to the two-day Joburg Energy Indaba. Phalatse said the procurement would be conducted on a phased basis and that she expected the first projects to be rolled-out over the coming 18 to 24 months.
EIMS Africa has appointed Tasneem Khan as its new project CEO for a portfolio of six solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in South Africa. As the former project CFO of the portfolio, she has been managing these projects in a caretaking capacity for the past few months.
Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has highlighted three key resource advantages that he argues could transform the coal province of Mpumalanga into a global “flagship” of the just energy transition. In an address to the Mpumalanga Energy Summit, De Ruyter argued that the province’s skilled human resources, its access to grid infrastructure and its solar and wind resources, which were superior to those in most other jurisdictions, even if not the best in the country, placed it in a strong position to transition to renewables.
South Korean company Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) announced on Monday that the first reactor at its latest nuclear power plant (NPP) had achieved criticality for the first time. Unit 1 at the Shin Hanul NPP reached this operational milestone on Sunday. “In the future, Shin Hanul Unit 1 plans to produce electricity for the first time early next month after undergoing a performance test of the power plant system with safety as the top priority,” affirmed KHNP in its statement. The reactor has a generation capacity of 1 400 MWe.
Eskom has approached the Constitutional Court to argue that it should not be compelled to provide two of South Africa’s most indebted municipalities with more electricity than provided for in supply agreements. The power utility is seeking leave to appeal a high court ruling from August 2020 that directed it to increase the amount of electricity it provides to the struggling Ngwathe Municipality in the Free State and the Lekwa Municipality in Mpumalanga.
The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) on May 23 said it was saddened and devastated at the passing of Human Resource and Ethics subcommittee chairperson Dr Namane Magau, who was also a board member of Necsa subsidiary NTP Radioisotopes, on May 20. “She carried her responsibilities steadfastly, with vigour, fairness and integrity until the morning of her last day,” the organisation said.
Financial services firm Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) has coordinated, arranged and structured a R500-million sustainability-linked credit facility for Old Mutual Property to encourage increased consumption of renewable energy as a percentage of Old Mutual Property’s total energy mix and enhance grey and black water recycling plants at the six main shopping centres in its retail property portfolio. The five-year term loan was made possible through a shared understanding between Nedbank CIB and Old Mutual Property of the importance of driving sustainability forward in key economic sectors, such as the retail property industry, which is a relatively large user of electricity and water, said Nedbank CIB head of sustainable finance solutions Arvana Singh.
The City of Johannesburg says it plans to partner with independent power producers (IPPs) on a R26-billion electricity investment strategy, which is designed to end load-shedding and place City Power on a more financially and environmentally sustainable footing. The strategy involves a diversification of electricity sources away from Eskom, which currently provides the city with 90% of its power, while also securing City Power’s revenue, which was currently threatened by grid defection, theft and the prospect of a “utility death spiral”.
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