Panel stresses need for supply chain diversification

As Russia continues to wage war in Ukraine, it has shone a spotlight on supply chains and the sourcing of materials. Speaking during a panel hosted by British newspaper Financial Times during its Energy Transition Summit, on November 1, Ukrainian energy holding company DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko pointed out that, because many international contractors have left the country owing to the conflict, local companies and government have had to learn how to transport goods safely from ports and how to install infrastructure even in such circumstances.
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Globeleq’s Cuamba solar, battery plant in Mozambique begins operations

Independent power company Globeleq and its project partners, energy developer Source Energia and Mozambican national power utility Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM), have received formal notification from EDM (the offtaker) that commercial operations at the 19 MW Cuamba solar photovoltaic (PV) and 7 MWh energy storage plant began on September 12. In September, Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Carlos Zacarias and other guests officially inaugurated the Cuamba solar plant, which is Mozambique’s very first combined utility-scale solar and energy storage plant.
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Eskom says its coal pollution kills 330 South Africans a year

State power utility Eskom Holdings said pollution from its coal-fired plants that supply more than 80% of the country’s power kills about 330 people a year. The figure, which Eskom drew from its own research, contrasts with a number of independent reports that put the figure at between 650 and 2 000 people a year. Environmentalists are protesting over plans by Eskom and the government to possibly slow down the pace of planned closures to alleviate power outages that are crippling the economy.
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Municipalities owing Eskom R56.8bn apply to participate in debt write-off scheme

The National Treasury has confirmed that a total of 67 municipalities, which collectively owe Eskom R56.8-billion, or 97% of the municipal arrears debt of over R58-billion owed to the utility at the end of March, have formally applied to participate in the debt write-off programme. The National Treasury also confirmed that 36 municipalities had already been approved for participation, but did not immediately indicate what these municipalities collectively owed to the utility.
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Energy independence crucial to addressing city’s financial distress – Tshwane Mayor

The most important thing for the City of Tshwane is to rescue it from financial distress, and key to this mission is maintaining energy independence, executive mayor Cilliers Brink emphasised in a keynote address during the city’s Mayoral Energy Sector Roundtable, held in Pretoria, on October 31. He pointed out that there needed to be considerable progress in energy independence to achieve financial rescue, and this therefore required one integrated project. He highlighted that the city had appointed an Energy Task Team this year, which was considering a mix of energy solutions for Tshwane to mitigate loadshedding and reduce its reliance on Eskom.
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Municipalities approved for Eskom debt relief could rise to 67 – Eskom

Eskom’s head of distribution Monde Bala reports that Eskom and the National Treasury are hoping that the number of municipalities participating in the Eskom Municipal Debt Relief Support Programme could rise to 67 from the 28 already approve at the start of October. The deadline for applications was extended to October 31, from an initial deadline of the end of September, to allow for further voluntary applications.
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Eskom warns of another R23bn loss as loadshedding underpins R24bn collapse

Eskom has warned that it is likely to report another R23-billion-plus loss for its current financial year to the end of March 2024, having belatedly confirmed a loss of R24-billion (R12-billion) for its 2022/23 financial year, during which loadshedding was implemented on a record 280 days. Acting CEO Calib Cassim confirmed the dismal outlook during the release of the group’s results presentation, held seven months after the group’s official year-end. As with several previous reports, the statements were also qualified by the State-owned utility’s auditors.
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New joint report points way to 11 000 GW of global renewable energy capacity

The COP28 presidency, the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) and the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) have launched a joint report on the sidelines of the Pre-COP event in Abu Dhabi, titled ‘Tripling Renewable Power and Doubling Energy Efficiency by 2030: Crucial Steps Towards 1.5 °C’. The report, launched on October 30, provides actionable policy recommendations for governments and the private sector on how to increase global renewable energy capacity to at least 11 000 GW while also doubling yearly average energy efficiency improvements in the target period. This falls under the COP28 Presidency’s action agenda objective of fast-tracking a just and orderly energy transition to keep 1.5 °C within reach.
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South Africa’s energy transition gathers pace

Speakers across a range of disciplines and domains have said that South Africa’s electricity market is transitioning to a more pluralistic market that will also include a much larger range of services to support generation, transmission, aggregation, grid balancing, energy trading, day-ahead and intra-day markets, besides others. During consulting firm EE Business Intelligence’s ‘Electricity market development: The transition to a multi-market model’ webinar, on October 26, University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business Power Futures Lab chairperson Professor Anton Eberhard said South Africa’s electricity industry would never be the same again.
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Wind turbine consignment arrives at Saldanha Multi-Purpose Terminal

The Saldanha Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT), managed by Transnet Port Terminals, is playing a strategic role in discharging imported wind turbine components that will go towards building 32 wind turbines in the Western Cape. Earlier this week, the terminal completed discharging the first consignment of wind turbine components as part projects selected as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) .
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