IFC, Absa launch green loan for energy projects

International financial institution the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has provided financial services group Absa with a loan of up to $150-million to support the bank’s strategy to expand its climate finance business and help South Africa meet its greenhouse-gas (GHG) reduction targets. In South Africa, financial institutions are critical sources of climate finance, with commercial banks providing about 67% of the financing for renewable energy projects.
/by

Production starts at Total’s Zinia project in Angola

Production from the Zinia Phase 2 short-cycle project, which is connected to the existing Pazflor’s floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit in Angola, has started. The project is operated by petroleum refiner Total, which is the joint operator of Block 17 in Angola, together with the Angolan National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency.
/by

Indebted Eskom balks at power deal offered by Turkish generator

Eskom Holdings, South Africa’s State power utility, doesn’t want to buy electricity from the company that won most of a government emergency-power tender because it’s concerned about the cost and length of the contract, according to two people familiar with the situation. Meeting the terms of Karpowership’s 20-year deal would add pressure to Eskom’s already stretched finances and heighten its exposure to fossil fuels, said the people, requesting anonymity as the utility is yet to comment publicly. The company has a debt burden of R464-billion and is struggling to meet payments even with the help of State bailouts.
/by

Successful localisation programme requires consistent renewables procurement pipeline

To achieve a successful localisation programme with incremental local content thresholds as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), a consistent procurement pipeline needs be established, says industry association South Africa Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli. The stop-start nature of procurement, and latent bid windows, severely damaged the meaningful momentum, pre-2015, which established new manufacturing capacity within the wind and solar value chains in South Africa.
/by

Minerals Council encourages distributed generation for mining industry

The Minerals Council South Africa is encouraging the uptake of distributed generation (also called self-generation) of power in South Africa, especially considering that South Africa is facing an electricity supply gap. The impact of this is “huge”, Minerals Council CEO Roger Baxter told delegates participating in the virtual Energy & Mines Africa conference.
/by

Ministerial determination sanctioning private power procurement would spur investment, clear …

The chairperson of the South African Independent Power Producer Association (SAIPPA) believes that the quickest and cheapest way to reduce, or eliminate, South Africa’s growth-sapping risk of load-shedding would be for Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to issue a Ministerial determination catering for private-to-private electricity supply agreements. Through Section 34 of the Energy Regulation Act (ERA), the Minister, in consultation with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), is empowered to determine that new generation capacity is needed to ensure the continued uninterrupted supply of electricity.
/by

Programme launched to build green skills, enterprise development

A solar photovoltaic (PV) green skills, enterprise development and sustainability research programme was launched on May 4 with the aim to upskill 900 youth, women and entrepreneurs over the next three years. The programme is aimed at ensuring the participation of the youth, women and entrepreneurs in the green economy.
/by

Energy specialist encourages mines to consider hybrid energy systems

Electrical energy solutions provider Senergy energy specialist Wilco de Villiers has encouraged miners to consider the value of implementing hybrid energy systems at their operations, as mines cannot function effectively without reliable energy supply. Speaking during this year’s Energy & Mines Africa conference, De Villiers said mines should expect hybrid power systems to at least maintain the reliability and predictability of the power system, if not improve it.
/by

M&R’s Clough awarded R1.1bn EPC contract for New South Wales power station

Murray & Roberts (M&R) subsidiary Clough has been awarded a R1.1-billion contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of the Tallawarra B gas turbine power station in New South Wales, Australia. Tallawarra B is a 300 MW expansion of the existing Tallawarra A power station.
/by

Eskom calls union wage demands unaffordable in tense negotiation

Eskom Holdings said the South African state utility is unable to agree to certain union demands over wage increases and declined to make an offer on basic salary until labor groups respond. The loss-making electricity provider “cannot afford” proposals such as an improvement in pay inequality, according to a May 4 letter reviewed by Bloomberg. A request by unions to raise worker housing allowance has “no justification” and the required funds aren’t available in any case, the company said.
/by