Creecy offers provinces help to process EIAs for 100 MW embedded projects

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy reports that she has written to provincial environment MECs to enquire whether they require any assistance in processing environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for embedded-generation projects that could help relieve pressure on the country’s load-shedding-prone grid. Speaking ahead of her department’s Budget Vote, Creecy said her letter outlined the urgency of the projects, which are being pursued by miners and other energy intensive businesses in line with a recent market reform allowing sub-100 MW projects to proceed without a licence.
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Eskom compiling ‘consolidated proposal’ for ending load-shedding crisis

Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has revealed that the utility is compiling a “consolidated proposal” on how to end the ongoing electricity crisis, including how to introduce much-needed new generation capacity in the shortest possible time. The State-owned utility estimates the current shortfall to be between 4 000 MW and 6 000 MW and has argued that, unless addressed, Eskom will continue to have limited headroom to address serious maintenance backlogs across its breakdown-prone coal fleet.
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Kibo secures deal to develop, deploy CellCube-based energy storage solutions in Southern Africa

Energy company Kibo Energy has signed a rolling five-year agreement with energy storage company Enerox’s subsidiary CellCube to develop and deploy CellCube-based long-duration energy storage (LDES) solutions in selected sectors in Southern Africa. Kibo has been granted conditional exclusive rights, subject to successful proof of concepts, to the marketing, sales, configuration and delivery of CellCube’s vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) in the development of its LDES solutions in microgrid applications behind the electricity meter.
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Stage 3 load-shedding planned for Tuesday night, for now

South Africa is still currently on track for Stage 3 load-shedding between 17:00 and 22:00 on Tuesday as a lack of capacity has left the country with evening power cuts for the rest of the week. Eskom had initially said there would Stage 3 load-shedding on Monday night as well, but had to escalate to Stage 4 after a unit tripped at Kusile power station, taking 720MW of generating capacity with it.
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Developing countries have opportunity to call for greater access to nuclear energy, technology

States that do not have nuclear weapons, which include most developing countries, have an opportunity to demand greater access to nuclear sciences and technologies for peaceful purposes, including for energy, industry and medicine, at the tenth review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), scheduled for August, Ambassador of Norway to Southern Africa Stian Nordengen Christensen has pointed out. Non-nuclear weapon armed States, and African States in particular, aim to focus on peaceful uses of nuclear energy at the upcoming review conference and they have the full support of Norway, he said during a discussion hosted by the South African Institute of International Affairs on May 13.
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IPP Office head says stakeholder alignment key to regular, investment-promoting procurement rhythm

The head of South Africa’s Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office believes that improved stakeholder management and alignment are key to overcoming delays to the introduction of urgently required new electricity capacity and to creating the predictable “procurement rhythm” required to attract electricity and manufacturing investment. In a wide-ranging interview Bernard Magoro tells Engineering News that all stakeholders, including multiple government departments, the regulator, Eskom and the bidders, need to “come to the party” to overcome the current impediments to projects achieving financial close.
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Emissions reduction tech at Kusile contributes to move to Stage 4 load-shedding

State-owned utility Eskom was forced to implement Stage 4 load-shedding on the evening of May 16 after Unit 2 at the Kusile power station tripped, Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said. The tripped Kusile unit removed 720 MW of generating capacity from the already constrained grid.
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Load-shedding escalated to Stage 4 on Monday

Load-shedding will be escalated to Stage 4 on Monday afternoon, Eskom announced. This is owing to a unit at Kusile power station tripping earlier on Monday, taking 720MW of generating capacity with it, Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said.  “While this unit has since returned to service, it will slowly load up to full capacity during the night.” 
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BLSA suggests business plan for an incoming modernised electricity system

South Africa will eventually find itself with a thoroughly modern electricity supply sector, including many generators competing with each other, an effective distribution operator and a wide marketplace for consumers to buy electricity.

Businesses should see through the doom and gloom of the current electricity mess and plan for the brighter future on the horizon, Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso suggests in her latest weekly newsletter, while also asking whether business is ready for an electricity system that works.

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Godongwana says work under way to unblock R54bn embedded generation pipeline

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana reports that work is under way with the private sector to unblock the remaining obstacles to investment of about R54-billion in embedded generation projects. Speaking during a presentation of Operation Vulindlela’s first quarter progress report, Godongwana said he was aware of frustrations over the slow pace of the structural reforms being championed under the initiative, including those designed to address the electricity crisis.
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