Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande has highlighted the country’s determination to develop a hydrogen economy, for a low carbon-emissions future. He did so at the recent meeting of the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE) steering committee, in Pretoria. The IPHE is an intergovernmental organisation with 22 members, which share information to encourage research and development into hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, and their actual deployment, around the world. South Africa currently chairs the steering committee.
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Energy and chemicals multinational Sasol has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Sasol Financing USA (the issuer) has priced an offering of $1-billion of dollar-denominated notes due 2029. The notes will bear interest at a rate of 8.750% a year and will be general unsecured obligations of the issuer and will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Sasol.
Cabinet reports that a target has been set to save about 1 000 MW, or the equivalent of one stage of loadshedding, through demand side management (DSM) measures, but has provided no details as to what initiatives will be introduced and at what cost. Presenting the outcomes of Cabinet’s April 26 meeting, Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni described lowering electricity usage, especially during the evening peak from 17:00 to 21:00, as representing a “win-win” solution. She argued that DSM initiatives could reduce pressure on the power grid and save households and firms money “without affecting business productivity or quality of life”.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has reaffirmed his administration’s determination to rapidly reduce, and ultimately end, the impact of electricity loadshedding (scheduled rotating power cuts, imposed by national electricity utility Eskom) on the province. He did so in his keynote address at the ground-breaking ceremony for a solar power plant at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) facility in Somerset West (in south-west Cape Town). “We really aim to become independent when it comes to energy provision,” he assured. “We want four or five towns this year to be loadshedding free.”
The official groundbreaking ceremony for a 5.06 MWp capacity solar energy plant at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) plant at Somerset West, in metropolitan Cape Town, was held late Wednesday afternoon. (Because of circumstances, the civils works on the site had had to be started before the official groundbreaking took place.) “Today marks a critical milestone in our energy transition journey in South Africa,” highlighted RDM CEO Jan-Patrick Helmsen in his address. The solar plant is being built to immunise the Somerset West facility from the effects of the scheduled rotating power cuts imposed on the country by the national electricity utility Eskom, because of its lack of operational generating capacity. Loadshedding has had “quite a significant impact on us, as an industry,” he noted, adding that it had cost RDM “a lot of money” last year.
Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter continued to draw a direct link between corruption at the State-owned utility and ongoing loadshedding during his much-anticipated, but ultimately unsatisfactory, virtual appearance before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday. To the obvious frustration of committee members, De Ruyter declined to provide any new details regarding the startling allegations he first made during a television interview in February.
Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 today until 05:00 on Thursday, Eskom announced. Thereafter, load shedding will be progressively reduced until it reaches Stage 1 by Sunday.
The Kriel regional court on April 25 found former Kriel power station finance manager Sifiso Jacob Masina guilty of fraud and theft. He was convicted and sentenced to eight years imprisonment wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of fraud and theft during the period of suspension. This followed a lengthy investigation by the Hawks’ Nelspruit-based Serious Commercial Crime unit.
Dubai-based renewable energy company AMEA Power has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with GreenCo Power Services, based in Zambia, for the energy offtake from an 85 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in South Africa.
The 85 MW solar PV power plant will be financed by Standard Bank of South Africa and based in North West.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe still believes loadshedding could be over by the end of the year if emergency power procurement through Karpowership, along with other measures, are taken “seriously”. The minister said in an interview with Talk Radio 702’s Clement Manyathela on Tuesday morning that by rejecting Karpowership, “Eskom must not pretend to be having electricity when it does not”. “Loadshedding can be attended to effectively and be reduced – almost eliminated if we focus on the right things,” Mantashe said, explaining that these measures involve re-looking at Karpowership, improving the energy availability factor of stations, and importing energy from neighbouring countries. Earlier this year, in an interview with eNCA, Mantashe said that loadshedding could be addressed in six to 12 months. At Davos this year, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana similarly said it would take 12 to 18 months to say “loadshedding is a thing of the past”. After his comments on Tuesday, Manyathela confronted Mantashe with comments by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa that ending loadshedding soon was not technically possible.
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