Project a blueprint for renewables future

The Oya Energy Hybrid dispatchable facility, which consists of colocated solar, wind and battery storage energy, will form a blueprint for the way in which South Africa’s energy grid will be able to operate on 100% renewable energy, says energy project developer G7 Renewable Energies MD Dr Killian Hagemann. G7 Renewable Energies is the lead developer in the Oya Energy Hybrid dispatchable facility, in the Komsberg Renewable Energy Development Zone in the Western Cape, which was awarded preferred bidder status in the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) this year.
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Event celebrates ten-year milestone

The annual Windaba Conference and Exhibition 2021, will take place on October 7 and 8 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre as part of celebrating the wind industry’s being operational in South Africa for ten years, says South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) chairperson Mercia Grimbeek. “Windaba is the flagship event for SAWEA, and we are fortunate enough to have a physical conference again. We’re celebrating ten years of SAWEA’s existence, the roll-out of megawatts of wind energy that we have achieved and the roll-out of wind energy that we intend to achieve in the next ten years.”
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Eskom mulls legal options as Energy Regulator rejects MYPD5 application

The Energy Regulator has voted to reject Eskom’s fifth multiyear price determination (MYPD5) application for the three financial years from 2022/23 to 2024/25 and will now request the utility to make a new submission under a new methodology, which is yet to be finalised. The State-owned utility told Engineering News & Mining Weekly that it was “considering the options available to it in terms of the law” following the decision and stressed that it was committed to ensuring that the required legal and consultation processes were followed.
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Sun Exchange secures $2.5m convertible note financing

Crowd-based solar leasing platform Sun Exchange has secured $2.5-million in convertible note financing from Mauritian private equity fund ARPF, which is advised by London-based ARCH Emerging Markets Partners (ARCH). This follows the company’s close of a $4-million Series A funding round in 2020, led by a $3-million investment from ARCH.
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Germany commits €100m to Sefa to unlock private investment in renewable energy

The German government will contribute €100-million to the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (Sefa), affirming its commitment to efforts to tap Africa’s renewable energy potential and drive its transition to clean energy sources. The funding will be used to unlock private sector investment in green baseload projects. Specifically, it will support technical assistance and investment in power generation, transmission and distribution to increase penetration of renewable power in African grids.
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Mantashe touts coal carbon capture as envoys meet

South Africa’s energy minister encouraged investment in technology that could potentially prolong the use of coal by mitigating emissions while a visiting delegation of rich nations were working on a plan to end the nation’s dependence on the fossil fuel. The call by Mineral and Energy Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe at a mining investment conference comes as envoys from the US, UK, Germany, France and the European Union meet with South African ministers, labour and business leaders around a $5-billion fund to reduce the country’s dependence on coal.
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Africa needs $240bn to transition to clean energy, Ramaphosa says

Sub-Saharan Africa needs $240-billion for the region to transition to a clean energy, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters in Johannesburg on Wednesday. “We need grant funding to help us transition,” he said. “If we get the funding we will migrate far quicker to renewable energy.”
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Energy efficiency standards, labelling programmes effective, says SANEDI

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) ‘Achievements of Energy Efficiency Appliance and Equipment Standards and Labelling Programmes’ report states that labelling electrical equipment according to energy performance helps consumers make informed buying decisions, leading to billions of dollars of savings on electricity and avoiding 300-million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year. “This is exciting news for South Africa, as the study echoes the experience that we have had with our local Energy Efficiency Standards and Labelling (EES&L) programmes,” says South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) energy efficiency & corporate communications GM Barry Bredenkamp.
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Rich nations pitch climate aid to fund South Africa coal exit

Envoys from some of the world’s richest nations met with South African cabinet ministers on Tuesday to discuss a climate deal that could see billions of dollars put toward ending the country’s dependence on coal. The delegation is trying to hammer out an agreement that can be announced at the COP26 climate talks, which start in Glasgow, Scotland on Oct. 31, two people familiar with the talks said. The discussions with South Africa — the world’s 12th-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases — include representatives from the US, UK, Germany, France and the European Union.
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Necsa welcomes Nersa decision on new nuclear energy for South Africa

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) on Wednesday announced its support of the recent National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) decision to approve the Section 34 (of the Electricity Regulation Act) Determination for 2 500 MW of new nuclear energy. Necsa described this approval by Nersa as “a step in the right direction”, to ensure that nuclear energy would continue to be part of the country’s energy mix (in line with the Integrated Resource Plan 2020). “The approval of the 2 500 MW comes at a critical time when the South Africa economy needs resuscitation following the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic,” affirmed Necsa board chairperson Dave Nicholls. “This will play a role in job creation which will assist in the dire state of unemployment in the country.”
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