The Matjhabeng local municipality, in the Free State, has agreed to hand over to State-owned power utility Eskom 139 farms belonging to the municipality as security for debt of R3.4-billion owed by the municipality to Eskom. The farms are valued at about R2.5-billion.
Local wind energy lobby organisation the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) reports that, as South Africa continues to struggle with the crippling effects of prolonged load-shedding, recent indicators point to a “light at the end of the tunnel that is lit by renewable energy”.
As such, the organisation highlights that, within a short week, three key factors happened that will promote renewable energy, going forward.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has clarified that it is aiming to release bid documentation for the so-called fifth bid window (BW5) of the South Africa’s renewable-energy procurement programme in December, following receipt of the regulator’s concurrence with a Ministerial determination that clears the way for the resumption of procurement. The Section 34 Ministerial determination has not yet been formally published in the Government Gazette, but the DMRE indicated to Engineering News & Mining Weekly on Monday that it intended Gazetting the document “before the end of next week”, having received the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s concurrence on September 2.
Using heat pump systems manufacturer EMS Holdings’ domestic 200 ℓ integrated heat pump system can save households between 60% and 70% of their monthly electricity costs as it uses home-grown efficient technology.
EMS Holdings CEO Franco Diedericks, speaking during this year’s Electra Mining Africa 2020 Connect virtual event – for which Creamer Media’s Engineering News & Mining Weekly is a partner – on the theme of innovation and the status of the South African manufacturing sector, says the technology was developed in-house following the development and large-scale roll-out of large water heating technologies.
The Western Cape government has urged Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to urgently Gazette the final Section 34 Ministerial Determination that would open the way for the procurement of 11 813 MW of new electricity capacity. On Thursday, Mantashe announced that the National Energy Regulator of South Africa had provided its concurrence to a determination, delivered to it in February, that seeks to implement the technology allocations included in the Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 (IRP 2019).
A study conducted by Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of AgriSciences has found that the 50 MW Khi Solar One facility, near Upington, is impacting on the surrounding bird life, but not to the extent expected.
It is also possible to reduce the impact that concentrating solar power (CSP) towers might have on bird populations by managing the infrastructure well, especially during downtime when it is not generating power, says the faculty’s HP van Heerden, after completing research at South Africa’s only CSP tower.
Work on the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) is officially under way, with the first industry working group meeting having taken place on August 26. SAREM is one of 14 industry specific masterplans being developed under the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC’s) national masterplan process, which was launched in July 2019.
State-owned power utility Eskom says the conveyor belt that feeds coal into the Medupi generation units, which failed on the evening of September 9, has been repaired and is back in service.
This has lowered the risk of load-shedding.
Pretoria-based industrial technology and solutions provider RTS Africa Technologies (RTS) has recently announced the increased availability of its Gen5 System, developed specifically for transformer oil dissolved gas analysis (DGA) for distribution transformer monitoring.
Local industrial lithium-ion battery distributor CHASE Technologies GM Brent Frazer explains that the company’s lithium-ion phosphate (LiFePO4) battery packs for forklifts present a more cost-effective, maintenance-free and environment-friendly option for forklift users. These battery packs provide a reliable power source when compared to the older, traditional lead acid battery option in forklifts used in materials handling for warehouses.
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