CER lauds court halting Thabametsi power station plans

The Centre for Environmental Rights says major climate impacts and exorbitant costs have managed to sound the death knell for one of the last new proposed coal-fired power stations in South Africa.

The environmental organisation’s statement follows the successful setting aside of plans for the Thabametsi power plant in court, after litigation launched by environmental justice groups Earthlife Africa and GroundWork in 2016.

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European firms say South Africa’s poor utilities deter investment

European businesses are delaying investment in South Africa because of poor power and water supply and the costs of complying with Black economic empowerment legislation, representatives of an industry body said. South Africa has suffered intermittent power outages since 2008 after the state electricity monopoly failed to invest adequately in new generation capacity and the provision of other services such as water has deteriorated.
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Rolls-Royce cites jobs potential if UK government enables small modular reactor fleet

UK-based global major industrial technology group Rolls-Royce stated on Wednesday that it expected to create 6 000 jobs in the midlands and north of England within five years, if the British government clearly committed itself to enabling the construction of 16 small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) over the next 20 years. Note that neither the UK government, nor any government agency, would be the customer for these SMRs, although the government is helping fund their development in a public …
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SANEDI rolls out 26 000 m2 cool roof project in Cape Town

The South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) is rolling out 26 000 m2 of cool roofing technology in the City of Cape Town as part of the Cool Roofs and Insulation Collaboration. The purpose of the roll out is to demonstrate the power of passive cooling when cool coatings are used in conjunction with insulation.
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Bushveld nears construction of solar plant at Vametco mine

Aim-listed Bushveld Minerals continues to progress with the hybrid minigrid project being developed at the Vametco vanadium mine, near Brits, on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa.

The project comprises 3.5 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation and 4 MWh of vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) storage.

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UP partners with Bambili, EWSeta, DSI to train graduates on fuel cell systems

The University of Pretoria (UP) will, for the next month, provide training for technical and vocational education and training college graduates on hydrogen fuel cell systems.

The training, which is provided in partnership with Bambili Energy, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and the Energy & Water Sector Education Training Authority (EWSeta), is expected to end on December 11.

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Sasol pins low-carbon ‘reset’ hopes on gas, renewables and green hydrogen

Energy and chemicals group Sasol, which is coming under increasing pressure to reduce its carbon emissions, reports that climate change is now “front and centre” in its unfolding ‘strategic reset’, which will involve a transition away from coal to gas, renewable energy and green hydrogen. In South Africa, the company converts coal, and some gas, into a range of liquid fuels and chemicals using processes that also emit more than 62-million tons of greenhouse-gas emissions yearly. Its Secunda complex, in Mpumalanga, contributes more than 56-million tons of those yearly emissions alone.
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Covid-19 accelerates energy transitions – PwC

Assurance, advisory and tax services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reports – through its newly released Africa Oil & Gas Review, titled Energising a New Tomorrow – that the rampant spread of the Covid-19 pandemic globally has resulted in galvanising of commitments to a green energy transition.

PwC energy strategy and infrastructure director James Mackay says the Covid-19 pandemic has played “havoc” in global economies and energy markets, with oil being shown to be particularly vulnerable. “In response, the developed world has accelerated the renewable energy transition through greening policy, economic stimulus and investment.”

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Absa considers a combined solar, EV finance package, should domestic market grow

Absa is mulling the roll-out of a finance mechanism for electric vehicles (EVs) that will incorporate a solar home installation to charge that vehicle, says Absa Vehicle and Asset Finance (AVAF) business analytics and strategy head Henry Botha. However, before that can happen, South Africa’s EV car park needs to grow significantly, providing economies of scale to the banking sector for EV financing solutions.
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Opaque fossil fuel subsidies put South Africa near bottom of G20 list

South Africa emerged as the second worst performer of the G20 non-Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (non-OECD) member countries, according to a November 10 report, titled ‘Doubling Back and Doubling Down: G20 Scorecard on Fossil Fuel Funding’.

The report ranks countries according to seven indicators – transparency, pledges, public money for coal, oil and gas, fossil fuel-based power (both production and consumption), as well as how support has changed over time.

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