Independent power producer Yellow Door Energy has completed the development phase for a 48 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Leeudoringstad, in North West. Construction will begin in the second quarter of the year and the solar PV plant is expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2025.
State-owned power utility Eskom’s board of directors has tasked incoming CEO Dan Marokane to prioritise three key areas – assessing the generation operational recovery plan, reviewing Eskom’s unbundling plans and engaging with internal and external stakeholders – in his first 100 days in office. Marokane on March 1 assumed the role of Eskom CEO at a time when the utility faces an existential challenge and is undergoing significant changes that require hands-on, bold and decisive leadership.
The debt owed by municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal to Eskom have increased by R818-million between March 2023 and January this year, resulting in municipalities in the province now owing Eskom R1.5-billion. The State-owned power utility supplies electricity in bulk to these municipalities, which, in turn, sell it at a profit to their customers.
State-owned utility Eskom will resume direct loadshedding for City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) customers after the city’s repeated failure to adhere to its obligations in this regard. Eskom said in a statement on February 29 that it would take over the role of loadshedding for the CoE’s customers from March 1.
Johannesburg- and London-listed diversified mining and marketing company Anglo American announced on Thursday that jointly owned renewable energy venture with EDF Renewables, Envusa Energy, has completed the project financing for its first three wind and solar projects in South Africa. The terms and structure of this non-recourse project financing are typical of high-quality renewable energy infrastructure assets. These three renewable energy projects, known as the Koruson 2 cluster of projects and located on the border of the Northern and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa, will have a total capacity of 520 MW of wind and solar electricity generation.
Platinum group metals (PGMs) miner Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has, through its wholly owned Rustenburg Platinum Mines (RPM) subsidiary, entered into a 20-year energy offtake agreement (EOA) with Envusa Energy. Envusa is a joint venture between EDF Renewables and Amplats’ parent company Anglo American with a focus on establishing a regional renewable energy ecosystem (RREE) in Southern Africa.
The 11 political parties that are members of the Multi-Party Charter (MPC) for South Africa have voiced a unified plan to end loadshedding once and for all if only they could collectively oust ruling party the African National Congress (ANC) at the upcoming national elections on May 29. The MPC is comprised of the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), ActionSA, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), the Independent South African National Civic Organisation (Isanco), the United Independent Movement (UIM), the Spectrum National Party (SNP), Ekhethu People’s Party (EPP), the Unemployed National Party (UNP) and the United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP).
South Africa’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges are not in a good state, Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA) CEO Mpho Mookapele has said. “Our TVETs are actually supposed to be producing skills for industry, because this is where you get practical training and links to industry. But most of our TVETS aren’t even linked to industry,” she said during a media briefing, in Johannesburg, on February 27.
Finalising funding solutions for the expedited expansion of South Africa’s electricity transmission grid has been identified as a key priority for the Just Energy Transition (JET) project management unit (PMU), which is located within the Presidency. The unit is overseeing the implementation of the country’s JET Investment Plan (JET-IP), which was approved in 2022 with the goal of stimulating R1.5-trillion (about $80-bilion) in clean electricity, new energy vehicles and green-hydrogen investments, while also supporting workers and communities whose lives and livelihoods will be made vulnerable by the transition.
Energy and chemicals group Sasol has moved to address investor concerns that its yearly production at Secunda will need to fall to only 6.7-million tons for it to meet its goal of reducing the carbon-heavy Mpumalanga complex’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. Delivering his final results presentation, outgoing CEO Fleetwood Grobler insisted that the 6.7-million tons output profile announced in August represented the “low road” production scenario that emerged following a review of its emission roadmap once the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) was eliminated as a plausible feedstock for Secunda.
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