A new International Energy Agency (IEA) report is warning of a potential supply deficit for some of the ‘critical minerals’ needed to support a global shift in the energy system that is aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement, as well as the growing number of country commitments to cutting carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050. Titled ‘The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions’, the report outlines the metals- and minerals-intensity of technologies such as solar photovoltaic, wind and electric vehicles (EVs) when compared with their fossil fuel-based counterparts – a reality that is transforming the energy sector into a major force in mineral markets.
The mounting pressure by governments and investors on industries globally to reduce emissions, coupled with favourable economics and the need for reliable and cost efficient power, are increasingly nudging mining companies towards considering renewable energy.
TSX- and LSE-listed gold miner Centamin Martin Horgan on May 4 said investors were applying higher standards to environmental performance and were therefore demanding cleaner operations.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has refused an integrated environmental authorisation application by State-owned power utility Eskom to build a new 30-year ash disposal facility at the Kendal power station, in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, on the basis of insufficient mitigation of potentially detrimental environmental impacts. “The Wetland Offset Strategy does not meet wetland offset targets as per the requirements of the second additional information requested and the offset land is not secured (not sterilised from future mining). The alternatives indicated by Eskom, like taking over wastewater treatment works in the catchment and making it compliant, are not feasible for enhancing the ecological category of the catchment,” the DFFE said in a statement on May 4.
Pan-African renewable energy project developer BioTherm Energy’s 120 MW Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility, in the Eastern Cape, has become the latest wind farm to be connected to the national grid. “We are pleased to announce the successful commissioning of all 48 wind turbine generators as the year draws to an end and we prepare to have our portfolio in operation in the next quarter,” says BioTherm CEO Robert Skjodt.
Despite ongoing economic uncertainties globally, investor appetite for renewables remains strong, with optioned renewable capacity increasing by 15% year-on-year in the nine months from January through to October 2020, compared with the same period the previous year. This sets a new record, juwi Renewables global hybrid director David Manning said during a conference on May 4.
Gold miner Centamin has awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for its 36 MW solar farm and 7.5 MW battery-energy storage system at the Sukari gold mine, in Egypt, to renewable energy specialist juwi Renewables and systems integrator company Giza Systems. juwi has been contracted to design, supply and integrate the Sukari solar and battery plant into the current diesel power plant, while Giza has been contracted to install the Sukari solar plant.
South Africa’s electricity utility Eskom signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with development financier Agence Française de Développement (AFD) on Monday that includes a specific objective of creating a framework for cooperation and collaboration on Eskom’s evolving ‘just energy transition’ strategy. The State-owned company has established a Just Energy Transition Office to oversee the repowering and repurposing of those coal power stations in its fleet that will be decommissioned in the coming few years, with some 10 GW of coal-fired capacity scheduled to be shut by 2030.
Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) says a proposed amendment to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act, which would raise the licence exemption threshold for private distributed-generation plants from 1 MW to 10 MW, “does not go far enough”. Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe released the proposed amendment in a Gazette notice on April 23 and called on interested persons and organisations to submit written comments to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy within 30 days.
The Presidential Climate Change Coordinating Commission (PCCCC), which held its second meeting on Friday, intends building on the work already done by the National Planning Commission (NPC) as it seeks to finalise a national ‘just transition framework’ for South Africa’s shift to a climate resilient society and economy. Deputy chairperson Valli Moosa stressed that the commission had no intention of “reinventing the wheel” and would, thus, also incorporate the extensive research and work completed on the just transition by labour, business and civil society groupings, as well as the research community.
Nonprofit association the Energy Intensive User Group (EIUG) on April 30 said its new member Namibian and South African zinc mining company Black Mountain Mining (BMM) will strengthen the association and diversify its portfolio through the addition of the zinc industry. The EIUG is committed to working with government, power utilities and other stakeholders to ensure South Africa has an energy supply industry that is financially viable, technically healthy and well managed. The membership will enable BMM to double up its mining production and potentially anchor beneficiation of zinc metal in South Africa, which will, in turn, make South Africa a net exporter of zinc, the association noted.
INDUSTRY NEWS
WHERE TO FIND US
Address
9 Yellow Street
Botshabelo Industrial Area
Botshabelo, Free State
Call / Email Us
Tel: +27 (0) 51 534 1651
Email: info@transfix.co.za
SOME OF OUR PRODUCTS
CALENDAR
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |