A record amount of renewable energy capacity was added globally last year, but that still left countries short of targets towards meeting a UN climate goal to triple capacity by 2030, a report by global renewable groups showed on Tuesday. More than 100 countries at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai in 2023 agreed to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 as part of efforts to meet global climate targets.
The South African National Energy Association (SANEA) will host the 2025 edition of its SANEA Leadership Symposium in Johannesburg on November 12 and 13. The premier energy-sector event will bring together representatives from across the energy community, including government, business, finance, operators, researchers, and young professionals under the theme of ‘What will our energy legacy be?’.
The court order confirming the controversial R54-billion settlement between Eskom and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has been delayed after the High Court granted AfriForum’s request to intervene as a respondent in the matter. On August 27, Nersa announced that a settlement had been reached after agreeing that it had made calculation errors when adjudicating Eskom’s most recent allowable revenue application; one that gave rise to its approval of tariff increases of 12.74%, 5.36% and 6.19% for Eskom’s 2026, 2027 and 2028 financial years respectively.
South African independent power producer (IPP) Red Rocket has reached financial close on a 300 MW solar PV project, which will be built at a cost of about R5.2-billion on land leased to it by Eskom. The Tournee Solar Park is in close proximity to the Tutuka coal-fired power station, in Mpumalanga, and construction is expected to take 24 months to complete, with commercial operation anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2027.
Sustainable Power Solutions (SPS) has introduced a buyout model that can convert existing solar and battery systems into immediate capital for South African businesses. SPS is a pan-African funder, developer and operator of solar PV and battery storage plants in the commercial and industrial market.
The third 155-MW phase of Seriti Green’s giant Ummbila Emoyeni Wind Farm, which is visibly changing the electricity landscape in South Africa’s coal heartland of Mpumalanga, has entered into construction after advancing to financial close. Seriti Green is majority owned by Seriti Resources, a black-owned coal mining company, with large operations in the province that supply coal to Eskom’s Kriel, Tutuka, Lethabo, Kendal and Duvha power stations, as well as some export markets.
Westbrooke Renewable Energy Alternatives (Westbrooke Real), an alternative investment strategy managed by Westbrooke Alternative Asset Management, has acquired a portfolio of operational solar PV and battery energy storage system (BESS) assets located at 91 Shell Downstream South Africa- (SDSA-) owned service stations across South Africa. The portfolio was bought alongside one of Westbrooke Real’s partners, CVE South Africa, an experienced independent power producer. The assets were acquired from Thebe Solar Energy, which exited its position as part of a strategic realignment.
State-owned Eskom’s return to profitability for the first time in eight years, with a profit before tax of R23.9-billion for the 2025 financial year, offers some welcome positive news for the power utility and the broader economy, business organisation Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso highlights in her latest weekly newsletter. The significant reduction in loadshedding this year has improved electricity supply reliability and boosted Eskom’s revenue owing to lower spending on diesel-based open-cycle gas turbines, she points out, adding that the utility’s turnaround was supported by over 350 private sector experts mobilised by the National Electricity Crisis Committee.
The South African Independent Power Producer Association (SAIPPA) expects to meet with Eskom later this month to discuss its concern that the State-owned entity’s proposed renewables projects may not be subjected to the same grid-access rules that are currently applied to independent power producers (IPPs). The association has also written to the Competition Commission highlighting the risk for market-dominance abuse should Eskom be allowed to bypass the prevailing Interim Grid Connection Allocation Rules (IGCAR) when moving to develop new renewables assets in close proximity to coal stations that are scheduled for retirement in the coming years.
A joint letter sent to the Independent Power Producer Office (IPP Office) on September 23 by organisations representing local industry, raised several concerns about the prequalification process launched ahead of the inaugural Independent Transmission Project (ITP) procurement programme. In the letter, the Powerline and Substation Association, the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa and the Manufacturing Circle described the technical and financial criteria included …
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