South African utility Eskom said on Tuesday it would implement rolling blackouts from 4pm until 10pm, and again the following day, after breakdowns in some generation units left the electricity system severely constrained. In a statement, Eskom said six generators had been returned to service at its Medupi, Tutuka, Kendal, Majuba and Grootvlei power stations the previous day, but the breakdown of four units overnight and on Tuesday morning, as well as a delay in the expected return to service of one, had left the grid under pressure.
An extension has been granted to September 4 for public comment on the geographical areas identified as Renewable Energy Development Zones (REDZ) for wind and solar, as well as for the related environmental authorisation processes. In a series of government notices published in July, Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy had called for public input as part of the public consultation process on the amendment of procedures to be followed in applying for, or deciding on, environmental authorisation applications for large-scale wind and solar photovoltaic activities.
German renewable energy project development company Cronimet Mining Power Solutions has merged with Namibia’s largest privately held group of companies Ohlthaver & List Group (O&L).
O&L acquired a majority stake in Cronimet from exiting major shareholder Cronimet Mining Energy, which is based in Switzerland.
Renewable energy, real estate and free zone project developer Groupe Filatex is rolling out a series of renewable energy power projects in Madagascar in partnership with Canada-based energy development company Dera Energy as part of its efforts to address a dire electricity deficit, increase access to electricity by the country’s majority rural population and reduce the country’s historic reliance of carbon-intensive fossil fuels. The company is also developing 66 MW worth of solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Côte d’Ivoire at a cost of €80-million; 10 MW of solar PV and 33 MW worth of hydropower in Guinea, at a cost of €8.5-million and €105-million, respectively; 20 MW worth of solar PV in Ghana at a cost of €17-million; and in advance negotiations to acquire a 8 MW hydropower plant in the Balkans with an expansion to reach 14 MW at a cost of €35-million.
Embattled chemicals and energy group Sasol aims to officially unveil its new-look strategy, dubbed Future Sasol, later this year. It has already indicated, however, that the plan will seek to reposition the 70-year-old company, built around a highly carbon-intensive technology that converts coal to fuels and chemicals, for a far more carbon-constrained world. CEO Fleetwood Grobler tells Engineering News that the strategy will be officially released in November.
Embattled State-owned power utility Eskom has warned that the power system will be severely constrained for the week ahead as the return to service of generation units has been delayed. “Eskom wishes to inform the public that the power system will be severely constrained this coming week due to the unavailability of eight generation units due to breakdowns or delays in the maintenance programme,” Eskom said in a statement late on Sunday afternoon.
While State-owned power utility Eskom and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa continue their legal battles and with another tariff hike looming in April 2021, households and businesses might well be asking what this means for them, says the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association.
Coupled with the sporadic implementation of load-shedding, many people and businesses are starting to consider solar photovoltaic (PV) installations.
Minigrid electricity developer industry association, the Africa Minigrids Developers Association (Amda), on August 13 launched its ‘Benchmarking Africa’s Minigrids’ report, which finds that minigrids outperform utilities in terms of affordability, with average installed costs of $733 a connection.
The report measures industry performance through a comprehensive collection of data across 12 countries and 28 companies.
In this opinion piece, South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) CEO Ntombifuthu Ntuli writes about questions that need to be addressed as the regulatory environment becomes more conducive for municipalities to procure power directly from independent power producers (IPPs). Draft amendments to the Electricity Regulations Act on New Generation Capacity were published by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe for public comment, in May this year. In broad strokes, the amendments will pave the way for municipalities, with good financial standing, to be able to either develop or obtain their own power-generation capacity from IPPs.
Despite successfully returning four generation units to service, Eskom on Thursday has said this will not stave off load-shedding and has announced that it will continue to implement Stage 2 load-shedding until 10pm on Thursday and between 8am and 10pm on Friday. “This load-shedding has been caused by an increase in plant breakdowns over the past few days. Staying on Stage 2 load-shedding will also assist us in preserving our emergency generation reserves, namely diesel and water,” the power utility said in a statement.
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