Financing instruments need to be overhauled for a successful just transition

Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) points out that South Africa needs to overhaul its existing financing mechanisms and instruments if communities are to truly benefit from a just energy transition to a green economy.

This emerged as a central theme during a TIPS-hosted development dialogue webinar, which was held to discuss a number of possible options to finance the just transition process in South Africa.

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Sasol keeps rights-issue powder dry having ‘banked’ $3bn in disposals

Debt-laden chemicals and energy group Sasol is keeping its rights-issue powder dry, indicating on Wednesday that a final decision on any possible issuance, including its scale, will depend on various factors, including whether or not it is successful in completing yet more asset disposals. CEO Fleetwood Grobler reported on Wednesday that a “go or no-go” decision on the rights issue would be announced in February, when the group was scheduled to release its interim results for the 2021 financial year.
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Germany scraps renewable fee on hydrogen to encourage new technology

Germany’s government on Wednesday lifted a charge levied on power prices to support renewable energy on the production of so-called green hydrogen to encourage a nascent technology for low-carbon fuels, which is still hampered by high costs. The Berlin cabinet decided to waive the renewable energy fee under the EEG feed-in tariff law for electricity derived from wind and sun, following an economy ministry initiative, government sources said.
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Proposed 2 400 MW Batoka Gorge hydro scheme to have major impact on adventure tourism

The main environmental and social impacts of the propose 2 400 MW Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric Scheme (BGHES) on the Zambezi river, including serious negative impacts on adventure tourism and on the habitat of a rare bird species, were highlighted during a virtual stakeholder engagement on Wednesday. Located 47-km downstream of the Victoria Falls, the proposed project is being advanced by the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), a binational organisation owned jointly by the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and which is responsible for managing the Kariba dam and its reservoir, as well as for sustainably harnessing the hydropower potential of the Zambezi river.
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Irena partners with Ocean Energy Europe to foster incentives, regulatory reforms for ocean energy

The International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ocean Energy Europe (OEE) to accelerate the commercialisation of ocean energy technologies by promoting the right policy incentives and innovative business models in Europe and globally.

OEE and Irena say in a statement that oceans hold abundant and largely untapped renewable energy potential that could drive a vigorous global blue economy.

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Eskom to be charged with misleading regulator over pollution

Eskom Holdings, South Africa’s State power utility, said it will be charged with supplying misleading information to the national air quality officer as well exceeding emissions limits at the Kendal coal-fired power plant and breaching its Atmospheric Emission License. “Eskom can confirm it has been summoned to appear at the eMalahleni Regional Court,” the company said in a response to queries on Monday.
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Electricity grid collapses in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy

Nigeria’s national electricity grid collapsed on Sunday, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said in a statement. Power outages in Nigeria, the most-populous nation in Africa, are common, but a system collapse is unusual.
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Opinion: How African countries can mobilise private capital for their infrastructure drives

In this opinion piece, Standard Bank corporate and investment banking CE Kenny Fihla writes about governments turning to public-private partnerships to deliver large-scale projects. Given the pressure on investment yields in developed markets, African nations have an opportunity to attract private-sector funding as they embark on infrastructure development programmes to boost their economies.
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SA’s prospects for future coal projects

The role of new coal in South Africa’s electricity mix is coming under increasing scrutiny, with Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter the latest to question whether it can indeed be built. Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the prospects for future coal projects.
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DNG Energy says LNG bunkering hub to benefit South Africa, rest of the world

Natural gas distributor Delta Natural Gas (DNG) Energy’s floating storage unit (FSU), in Algoa Bay, South Africa, once operational and delivering liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2021, is set to secure energy for various industries and households, while also creating jobs and contributing to skills development in the country. The FSU will offer offshore, as well as onshore, logistics with ship-to-ship transfers for international trading ships and LNG “milk runs” within South Africa.
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