Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe is aiming to seek Cabinet approval to publish an updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for public consultation during an upcoming Cabinet meeting in September. Speaking on the sidelines of a critical minerals summit in Sandton, Mantashe indicated that he would be presenting the document, which he dubbed ‘IRP 2023’, at a Cabinet committee meeting during the first week of September with the aim of making a presentation to Cabinet itself at the subsequent meeting of the executive.
Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has once again snubbed the Western Cape legislature’s ad-hoc committee on the energy crisis. Ramokgopa was expected to brief the committee on the impact of loadshedding on the province on Tuesday, but informed the committee chairperson at the eleventh hour that he would not be able to make it.
Sasol’s appeal of the National Air Quality Officer’s (NAQO’s) July 11 refusal to approve an alternative approach for measuring the sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the 17 coal boilers at the group’s Secunda complex, in Mpumalanga, is being strongly opposed by shareholder activism organisation Just Share. Sasol lodged an appeal with Environment Minister Barbara Creecy on July 30, after the NAQO declined its application to have the boilers’ SO2 emissions regulated, from April 1, 2025 onwards, using a load-based emission limit rather than the prevailing concentration-based emissions limit used for setting Minimum Emission Standards (MES).
One of the primary catalysts for the prevalent global emergence of subsidies within the renewable energy sector stems from the dominance of China, research firm BMI Research operational risk analyst Keaton Fitzpatrick has said. Speaking at a webinar hosted by BMI Research – a Fitch Solutions company – titled ‘Subsidy Wars and The Energy Transition, The Race To Develop Low Carbon Energy Manufacturing’ on August 24, he said China had unequivocally established its preeminence across the global energy supply chain, encompassing vital components of renewable energy, as well as the critical mineral provisions and corresponding market domains.
South Africa’s electricity distribution system is “an albatross” beset by fighting between the national power utility and municipalities as the government takes steps to stabilize the grid, according to the electricity minister. State-owned Eskom Holdings has focused on improving the performance of the mainly coal-fired power stations that have become unreliable due to neglected maintenance, resulting in record electricity outages that curb economic growth.
Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is confident that two units at “perennial underperformer” Tutuka power station will come back onstream in September, he said during a media briefing on Sunday. This comes as the plant got a helping hand from the Resource Mobilisation Fund – a vehicle launched by Business for South Africa (BUSA) earlier this year to support the rollout of president Cyril Ramaphosa’s Energy Action Plan.
China is an ideal partner to help South Africa as it builds its renewable energy capacity, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has said, given that it is a “dominant player in the renewables space” and has “done the kind of modernisation that is required”. The minister’s comments come on the back of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, where he signed two overarching memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with China, relating to a donation from that country to help solve SA’s power crisis, as well help move SA’s energy transition forward.
The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) has asked Eskom to undertake additional engineering studies on the Koeberg power station before it can deliberate on its application to extend the long-term operation licence for another 20 years. Speaking at a briefing to editors in Johannesburg on Thursday, Eskom’s senior manager in its outage centre, Thabiso Moirapula, said that Eskom did not know yet if the licence for the 40-year old plant will be extended before it runs out in July 2024.
State-owned utility Eskom has confirmed that it is prioritising 47 grid-related projects within its larger R210-billion Transmission Development Plan (TDP) that it believes could collectively add 37 GW of connection capacity over the coming few years. It is also close to finalising the approach it will be taking to the issue of curtailment as it moves to immediately unlock scarce grid capacity in high-potential renewables regions ahead of its grid investment roll-out.
City Power claims it will have a slightly lower tariff for Johannesburg residents after procuring electricity from four independent power producers (IPPs). The entity said two of the four IPPs still had to register with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).
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