Posts

Solareff opens new Cape Town office on back of regional boom

The Johannesburg-based Solareff group last week cut the ribbon on its new off-grid, 720 m2 regional office and warehouse in Cape Town. Chief commercial officer DeVilliers Botha says the engineered solar PV and battery energy storage solutions (BESS) group had only two Cape Town employees four years ago, with this number now at 22.
/by

Record renewables capacity falls short of global target, REN21 says

A record 740 GW of renewable energy capacity was added worldwide last year, still not enough to meet a global goal to triple renewable capacity by 2030, a report by the Paris-based think tank REN21 showed on Tuesday. A target was set at the COP28 UN climate conference in 2023 to triple the amount of renewables such as wind and solar to keep a 1.5 °C warming limit this century within reach.
/by

$1.5bn World Bank loan to support reforms in South Africa’s energy and transport sectors

The World Bank has approved a $1.5-billion (R27-billion) development policy loan to support the implementation of ongoing structural reform in South Africa’s energy and transport sectors, as well as the country’s transition toward a low-carbon economy. In a statement, the National Treasury said the loan offered favourable interest rates based on the six-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate, plus 1.49%, as well as flexible repayment terms, with a 16-year maturity and a three-year grace period.
/by

World Bank Group considers $500m boost for South Africa’s transmission expansion

The World Bank Group is considering financing $500-million of South Africa’s participation in a new credit guarantee facility meant to unlock private financing for a massive transmission grid expansion plan, a senior bank official told Reuters. South Africa is courting private investment for an ambitious plan to add 14 500 km of new lines and enhanced transformer capacity over the next decade, at an estimated total cost of $25-billion, as it looks to emerge from a decade of crippling power cuts that have battered the economy.
/by

Sarens does the heavy lifting at new Namibian wind farm

Heavy lifting and crane rental services company Sarens, through its South African division Sarens Siba, is working on the installation of 125 t wind turbine generators (WTGs) for the first phase of the InnoVent Diaz onshore wind farm in Namibia, with the second phase scheduled to start soon after. The new InnoVent Diaz onshore wind farm will be able to reach an energy capacity of 44 MW and will produce 230 GWh/y of renewable electricity once commissioned by the end of this year.
/by

Opinion: Robust transmission infrastructure the linchpin for addressing Africa’s energy crisis

In this opinion article, International Finance Corporation (IFC) regional industry director for the infrastructure and natural resources sector in Africa Sarvesh Suri underlines the importance of transmission infrastructure for improving security of supply in Africa. Suri also outlines the IFC’s role in advising governments and developers on advancing private-sector-led transmission lines. The progress in power generation across Africa has been encouraging: 26 GW of renewables-based generation capacity added in the last 10 years, according to the Renewable Energy Market Analysis report.
/by

Globeleq moves to buy majority stake in Zambian hydro company

Independent power producer Globeleq has signed a share purchase agreement with Norwegian development institution Norfund for the acquisition of a 51% equity stake in Zambia’s Lunsemfwa Hydro Power Company (LHPC). No purchase price has been disclosed, but the transaction is expected to be finalised in the second half of 2025.
/by

NRWDI outlines plan for new facility to store Koeberg spent fuel offsite from 2030

The National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute (NRWDI) is moving ahead with preliminary designs for a so-called Centralised Interim Storage Facility (CISF) at the Vaalputs site in the Northern Cape to store spent fuel arising from Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station. While the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, or Necsa, currently holds the licence to operate the Vaalputs radioactive waste disposal facility, NRWDI is in the process of seeking to have the licenced transferred.
/by

Lack of belief in Africa’s economic prospects is holding the continent back, Mataboge says

It is not a deficit of resources that is holding Africa back but rather a deficit of belief in Africa’s prospects as a formidable player in the global political economy, African Union (AU) infrastructure and energy commissioner Lerato Mataboge said at the Youth Energy Summit, in Cape Town, on June 18. “This is the antithesis of the AU’s Agenda 2063. Until we internally hold a positive view of ourselves and our continent, the Agenda 2063 moonshots will remain elusive. As the AU, we hold the firm belief of Africa’s positive and impactful role in the global economy, historically, currently and in the future,” she said.
/by

Nedlac deliberations on IRP to be wrapped up ‘in next week or so’

South African National Energy Development Institute (Sanedi) CEO Dr Titus Mathe reports that consultations at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) on the latest draft of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity are close to being concluded. In a response to questions posed on the IRP during a briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy on Sanedi’s strategic plan, Mathe deferred questions on when an updated IRP would be Gazetted to the Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE).
/by