Africa must do more to advance its own development – Manuel

Africa’s business sector and governments must push harder in addressing the challenges facing the continent, as the biggest threat to its development is complacency, said insurance and investment management company Old Mutual chairperson and former South Africa Finance Minister Trevor Manuel. “Economic growth of Southern Africa this year is expected at 2.5% and may go higher over time. However, the demographic dividend suggests that the population is growing faster than the economy is growing.
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Reducing grid reliance to reduce costs

With loadshedding impacting productivity and income generation, and increasing safety and security risks, investing in solar photovoltaic (PV) has become more common. Consequently, getting a thorough electrical usage and needs analysis done to determine the best system design is a need that renewable-energy franchise One Energy Group helps companies meet, providing guidance to ensure that they receive a favourable return on their solar investment. “The proper monitoring and analysis of electricity usage will reveal when the peak electricity demand happens and how much is used on a variety of circuits,” One Energy Group marketing director Teresa Settas explains.
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Thermal solutions increase efficiency

An integrated site energy management plan is strongly advised amid South Africa’s power constraints, as it demonstrates opportunities – such as integrating electrical and thermal systems – to increase overall energy efficiency, says steam and boiler operations and maintenance service provider Associated Energy Services (AES). In terms of alternative energy solutions and the optimisation of manufacturing plants, “it’s all about preserving resources of production and any reduction in their use through efficient processes, operations or systems integration to lower production costs”, says AES commercial director Dennis Williams.
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New spray increases energy efficiency

Sustainability has propelled the creation of new technologies, with the economical use of energy resources becoming an important objective within metalworking companies, says fluid technology solutions specialist technotrans business development manager Hary Kosciesza. Consequently, technotrans Sassenberg will be introducing its new resource-preserving spray lubrication systems at the Blechexpo 2024. 
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Eskom’s Hex battery the first of eight utility-scale projects being deployed across four provinces

Eskom has officially started operating the first of eight utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects being introduced as part of Phase 1 of a World Bank-funded programme to add batteries with a combined storage capacity of 199 MW and the ability to discharge 833 MWh of electricity over a minimum of four hours. The project in question is the 20 MW/100MWh Hex BESS site, which has been built on Eskom’s distribution network in Worcester in the Western Cape using batteries supplied by Hyosung, of South Korea.
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South Africa still weighing impact of charging Eskom interest

South Africa is still assessing the effect of adding interest to a R254-billion debt relief package for state-owned Eskom Holdings as the company prepares to split into three, according to a National Treasury official. Treasury announced in last week’s budget that it would convert the loans in the deal announced in February from interest free to interest bearing — at a rate yet to be determined — to better reflect the cost of the arrangement.
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South Africa to miss 2030 emissions goal as it keeps coal plants burning

South Africa will miss its binding 2030 carbon emissions targets under the Paris climate agreement, three senior government officials confirmed, as the country plans to run eight coal-fired power plants for longer than planned. South Africa is the world’s eleventh biggest greenhouse-gas emitter and has one of the world’s highest per capita emissions.
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Lack of curtailment framework holding up renewables round, IPP Office confirms

South Africa’s Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office has indicated that the procurement documentation for both the next public renewables round and a gas-to-power programme are at an advanced stage but the timing of their release to the market is dependent on the conclusion of “various grid optimisation initiatives”, including an updated curtailment framework. Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa revealed recently that Bid Window Seven (BW7) of the renewables programme had been postponed until December and attributed the rescheduling from an already revised released date of September to delays in finalising an update to the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
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NamPower awards R100m contract to ACTOM for new indoor substation in Swakopmund

ACTOM Energy Namibia (AEN) has been awarded a R100-million contract by Namibia Power Corporation (NamPower) to design, manufacture, supply, install and commission specialised switchgear and substation protection and automation systems for a new indoor 132/66/33 kV substation the utility is planning to establish in Swakopmund, Namibia. The new Sekelduin substation, due to be completed in early-2025, is being built to meet increased demand for power resulting from rapid growth of the coastal city and surrounding areas and to cater for future expansion in the region.
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Regulator approves Eskom tariff discounts for ferrochrome groups

The Energy Regulator has approved six-year negotiated pricing agreements (NPAs) for ferrochrome smelters operated in South Africa by both Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture and Samancor Chrome. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) issued a statement on November 6 confirming NPAs had been approved for four of Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture’s ferrochrome operations in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West, as well as for six of Samancor Chrome’s smelter operations in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West.
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