Eskom partners with Msunduzi municipality to rebuild technical, admin capacities

State-owned power utility Eskom has entered into an active partnership agreement with the Msunduzi municipality, in KwaZulu-Natal, whereby Eskom has been appointed as network maintenance services agent.

Eskom will also assist the municipality with capacity building and skills transfer.

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Closing IRP’s solar procurement gaps would unlock more jobs – new report

South Africa’s emerging solar photovoltaic (PV) value chain has significant potential to create employment over the current decade as utility scale and small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) capacity is added in response to the country’s Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 (IRP 2019) and moves by businesses and households to bolster security of supply through rooftop investments. A new ‘Solar PV Industry Jobs Report’ states that between 11 000 and 13 000 permanent operations and maintenance (O&M) jobs could be created by 2030, along with up to 40 000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs every year in the preparation, development and construction of domestic solar projects.
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Nonresidential buildings will have to display energy performance certificate by next December

By December 2022, some nonresidential buildings will be required by law to display an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which is done by measuring the building’s energy use intensity and giving it a colour-coded score from A to G, sustainable structures organisation the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) says. “It is hoped that this will be a great boost for energy efficiency in South Africa, since the first step toward lowering energy consumption is knowing energy consumption. The new regulation requires that energy data is collected over the period of a year, to get an adequate measure of the building’s energy use.
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Tlou to start Lesedi Phase 1, receives EIS approval for Boomslang

Southern African energy development company Tlou Energy said that, following a recent capital raising, it has the necessary funds in place to start construction on the transmission line for its Lesedi project. It added that the Botswana Department of Environmental Affairs had approved the environmental-impact statement (EIS) for its Boomslang project, which is adjacent to the Lesedi power project.
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Ramaphosa emphasises need for action to address climate change challenges

In the ramp-up to the next international climate conference, to be held in Scotland in November, President Cyril Ramaphosa has shared the sentiments of the international community in that the world needs to “dramatically scale up its efforts, raise its level of ambition and support developing countries with the means to implement climate actions”. While the cascading effect of climate change is “vital”, it does not affect only weather patterns, Ramaphosa says in his weekly letter to the nation, noting that it affects “nearly every aspect of our lives, from the food that is eaten, the water that is drunk, even impacting where people live”.
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Largest Egypt solar project Kom Ombo receives $114m funding

Energy generation and desalination company Acwa Power has secured a $114-million financing package for the construction of the largest private solar power plant in Egypt. The Kom Ombo plant will contribute to the Egyptian government’s target to generate 42% of the country’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2035, while delivering one of the lowest generation tariffs on the continent.
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Proposed regulation lifting ‘embedded generation’ licence-exemption cap to 10 MW released …

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has released, for public comment, an amendment to the Electricity Regulation Act, proposing an increase in the licensing-exemption threshold for embedded power generation plants from 1 MW to 10 MW. The Gazette notice, which was published on April 23, follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s February State of the Nation announcement that Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act would be amended to increase the licensing threshold for embedded generators.
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Concerns about RMIPPPP

Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about concerns raised about the architecture of the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) and the powership projects that have been selected as preferred bidders under the RMIPPPP.  
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Significant gas supply opportunity for company

Power generation, while remaining South Africa’s largest barrier to economic growth, provides piped natural gas supplier Egoli Gas with a significant opportunity to provide more piped natural gas for the local industry, says Egoli Gas MD Vishal Pooran. “We are all aware of the current challenges regarding the inconsistent electricity supply from power utilities.  Government has already licensed and granted approval on embedded generation of up to 10 MW without having to obtain Ministerial approval.”
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Low price could boost LNG development

A decrease in oil demand and, consequently, in prices last year because of Covid-19 also resulted in lower prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG). Business research consultancy Birguid associate researcher Patience Panashe argues that LNG buyers can take advantage of this to import LNG into South Africa at lower prices. “Inexpensive oil could have a dampening effect on all energy prices. LNG is a buyer’s market currently, especially with a glut of LNG on the market.”
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