Although coal miner Exxaro acknowledges its contribution toward climate change, it also stresses that coal from already-established coal mines need to be capitalised upon to form the foundation of a new and future-sustainable business.
As Western Europe accelerates a structural transition away from Russian energy dependence, Africa will play a salient role in filling this void, says Oxford Economics Africa (OEA). During a webinar on March 29, the research company unpacked how a more pressing shift towards renewable energy and a reduction on Russian hydrocarbon dependence will increase demand for African renewable and non-renewable resources.
The Rand West City municipality has given non-compliant residents some leeway after Eskom warned about blackouts. The municipality owes Eskom R732-million, which has been accumulated over the past 12 years. The mayor, Gladys Khoza, said the municipality was failing to collect revenue in townships.
The renewable energy transition “is the only true path to energy security”, United Nations secretary-general António Guterres has asserted, adding that the current energy crisis, precipitated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, underlined the need to accelerate rather than slow the transition. In a recorded address to the 2022 edition of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD), Guterres warned that the world was not on track to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by mid-century, or limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
Investing in South African cities as part of a green and just recovery from the pandemic can create and support 1.8-million green jobs by 2030, with nearly 1.1-million of those jobs in the buildings, power and sustainable transport sectors. A further 674 000 jobs can be generated and supported locally within cities. Investing in adaptation and nature-based solutions to tackle extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, can produce an additional 705 000 sustainable jobs across the country.
South Africa’s economy has had to deal with bouts of load-shedding since 2008 while the procurement of new renewables capacity under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) was delayed for a number of years, but renewable energy company Dornier-Suntrace is optimistic about the country’s clean energy prospects going forward.
CEO Boris Westphal, who has been involved in the local renewable energy industry since 2010, says the REIPPPP was one of the most successful energy auction programmes globally up to 2014 when it was stalled.
There are fears of a global energy supply crisis affecting electricity and fuel security, precipitated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while uncertainty around oil supply from Russia, which is the world’s third-largest producer, has sent the oil price soaring. Further, with efforts by European countries to reduce their reliance on Russian gas, energy efficiency will become the single most effective tool to remedy high demand and low capacity or supply, says South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) energy efficiency and corporate communications GM Barry Bredenkamp.
Renewable energy company Scatec has promoted project development executive VP Terje Pilskog to CEO, effective May 1, when incumbent Raymond Carlsen will step down after a 13-year tenure. “Pilskog has been instrumental in the strategic development of Scatec and has first-hand experience with both the commercial and operational aspects of the company. We are confident he is the right man to continue the development of Scatec as a . . . provider of renewable energy solutions globally,” said Scatec chairperson John Andersen Jr on March 28.
JSE-listed construction materials supplier Raubex expects its earnings a share for the financial year ended February 28 to be at least 231% higher year-on-year, while its headline earnings a share are expected to be at least 250% higher year-on-year.
The company had posted earnings a share and headline earnings a share of 87.4c and 81.9c, respectively, in the prior financial year.
South Africa’s current Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is significantly underestimating what new capacity should be being built to cater for the decommissioning of the coal-fired power stations and any future demand growth, African Rainbow Energy and Power (AREP) CEO Brian Dames has warned. Speaking during a breakaway session on energy at the recent South Africa Investment Conference, the former Eskom CEO argued that the plan – published in late 2019 and which energy commentors frequently describe as being sorely out of date – “should be a lot more aggressive”.
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