Agreement inked to develop hydrogen recycling of end-of-life wind turbine magnets

Magnet metal and rare earths miner Pensana has signed a cooperation agreement with oil, gas and wind power company Equinor, forming a working group to share technical and commercial information to develop a low-energy method for recycling end-of-life magnets at Pensana’s rare earths hub in the Saltend Chemical Park, in the UK. Pensana chairperson Paul Atherley says the agreement relates to processing end-of-life magnets from wind turbine nacelles using properties found in hydrogen as a powerful reductant. Recycling permanent magnets using hydrogen not as a fuel, but as a reductant, while also benefitting from the decarbonised power supply within Saltend, offers the parties a clean alternative that uses 88% less energy than virgin magnet manufacture.
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McKinsey pegs the price tag of a livable climate at $9.2tr a year

A new analysis from McKinsey & Co. estimates that the investment, in new infrastructure and systems, needed to meet international climate goals could be $9.2-trillion a year through 2050. That’s at least $3.5-trillion more a year than the world is currently laying out for both low-carbon and fossil-fuel infrastructure and changes in how people use land. McKinsey analysts wanted a sense of how much investment would be necessary, and what behavioral changes would be required, to slash the impact …
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Natural gas, electricity price volatility and inflation the result of natural gas crisis

Natural gas and electricity prices have spiked to record highs, most notably in Europe and some major Asian markets, causing potentially significant economic impacts and volatility in gas and electricity markets, driven by turmoil in natural gas markets, says intergovernmental organisation International Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Dr Fatih Birol. A range of issues are affecting the natural gas sector, including last year’s exceptionally rapid global economic rebound, outages and maintenance of key gas infrastructure and a lack of sufficient supply from Russia, which are driving broader energy market turbulence in Europe.
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Electricity tariff hearings

Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the key themes that emerged during the public hearings, hosted by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, into Eskom’s latest revenue application, the way forward and what is needed for South Africa to move beyond an ongoing tussle over tariffs.
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Ramaphosa sees just transition as the way to energy security

South Africa must embark on a “just energy transition” to stimulate greater investment as a way to to overcome damaging electricity shortages, said President Cyril Ramaphosa. Ramaphosa spoke at the conclusion of the ruling ANC’s National Executive Council meeting on Sunday.
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Eskom warns inflation-linked hike will trigger request for more government support

State-owned utility Eskom warns that an inflation-linked hike will force it to seek yet more support from the National Treasury, amid overwhelming calls for the energy regulator to reject its request for a 20.5% tariff hike from April 1 and to implement a single-digit increase instead. Stakeholder warnings over the unaffordability of the proposed increase on business and households emerged as the core theme during week-long public hearings, which were hosted by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) from January 17 to 21, culminating in a hybrid event in Gauteng.
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Nigerian VP calls for natural gas to be accepted as a transition fuel

Nigerian VP Yemi Osinbajo has called for natural gas – which Africa has in abundance – to be accepted by the rest of the globe as a transitional fuel. In his address to the Davos Agenda 2022 – hosted by the World Economic Forum – on January 21, Osinbajo reminded world leaders that, although Africa contributed the least to climate change, the continent has been the most negatively affected by it.
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South Africa’s solar PV value chain must develop quality culture – Juwi

By 2030, total installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity in South Africa is expected to reach 8 400 MW; however, to ensure sustainable growth, the country has to develop and implement quality infrastructure for these systems, says Juwi Renewable Energies MD Richard Doyle. “Embedding a culture of quality is vital if we want to unlock the huge economic potential of solar technologies,” he notes.
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Treasury gazettes renewable energy premium notice

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has published a notice regarding the renewable energy premium in the Government Gazette. The purpose of the notice is to facilitate Section 6(2) of the Carbon Tax Act, which makes provision for taxpayers conducting electricity generation activities to offset the costs of buying additional renewable electricity against their carbon tax liability for the first phase of the carbon tax, until December 2022.
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Globeleq’s Malindi solar plant providing 40 MW of clean energy to Kenya grid

The 52 MW Malindi solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, in Langobaya, Kenya, has been exporting 40 MW of power into the national grid since December 14. The $69-million solar plant, developed by independent power producer (IPP) Globeleq and its project partner Africa Energy Development Corporation (AEDC), is made up of 157 000 PV panels and is one of the first IPP-owned utility-scale solar plants in Kenya, as well as the only renewable power plant located in the coastal area.
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