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Ethiopia completes third phase of filling giant Nile dam

Ethiopia has completed the third phase of filling the reservoir for its huge dam on the Blue Nile river, the government said on Friday, a process that continues to irk the country’s downstream neighbours Egypt and Sudan. Addis Ababa says the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a $4-billion hydropower project, is crucial to powering its economic development, but Egypt and Sudan consider it a serious threat to their vital water supplies.
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UK atomic agency selects engineering consortium to help deliver nuclear fusion project

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), which is that country’s agency for the development of nuclear fusion power, has selected a consortium, led by design, engineering and project management consultancy Atkins (part of Canada’s multinational SNC-Lavalin group) as prime contractor, to be its engineering delivery partner for its Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme. In this endeavour, Atkins is partnered with its frequent collaborator, France-based international engineering services group Assystem. The other members of the consortium are British company Oxford Sigma, which specialises in In-Vessel Component materials technology and safety for nuclear fusion plants, Japanese specialist In-Vessel Component and Tritium company Kyoto Fusioneering, and Ansaldo Nuclear (the UK subsidiary of the Italian Ansaldo Energia group).
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Defaults raise Southern Africa hydro project cost to $5bn

Sovereign defaults by both Zambia and Zimbabwe have escalated the Batoka Gorge hydro-electric project cost, with the estimated price climbing 23% to almost $5-billion. The plan, which is being developed by General Electric and Power Construction Corporation of China, needs credit support, the Zambezi River Authority said in an emailed response to questions. This may be raised through development bank guarantees, government guarantees or partial credit and risk guarantees, the agency, which is overseeing the construction of the project, said.
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Specialists complete inspection project

The benefit of rope access for routine industrial inspection work was again demonstrated when leading rope access specialist Skyriders Access Specialists successfully completed a project for Easigas in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.
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Load-shedding poses long-term risks to sector

The ongoing power outages have a significant impact on the agriculture sector – and the wider economy – which holds serious implications for food security and social stability. Industry body Agri SA explains that the extended period of level six load-shedding threatens the viability of the sector while an escalation to level seven and higher would be catastrophic and pose a risk to the country’s national security. 
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AECI Much Asphalt to pioneer low carbon asphalt production

South African chemicals group AECI Much Asphalt and carbon negative materials producer Origin Materials have launched a programme to create a novel low-carbon bitumen that is expected to create considerable value in the developing African market.
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Enpower granted licence to trade electricity

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has granted Enpower Trading a licence to trade energy. This is the first issuing of such a licence in over a decade and brings to a total three licensed energy traders in the country. Enpower will now be able to help accelerate private investment in new electricity generation capacity in South Africa.
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Solidarity insists Eskom needs more skilled experts

Trade union Solidarity insists that power utility Eskom needs more personnel with critical skills, including for project management, maintenance and returning generation units to service at power stations. Solidarity says this comes as a senior executive with Eskom has denied that there is a skills shortage at Eskom, despite the utility, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and President Cyril Ramaphosa having acknowledged the problem
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Nersa reiterates that it has not approved Sasol’s 96% gas hike

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) says it has not approved an increase in the maximum price of pipeline gas to R133/GJ and insists that it “would not approve any increase which doubles its previously approved maximum gas price” of R68.39/GJ. It also insists that only Sasol Gas, which has confirmed that the 96% hike became effective from August 1, could respond to questions regarding the basis for the increase.
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Giant US corporation to use small modular nuclear reactors to power one of its plants

US-based global multinational materials science company Dow, most famous for its chemical production (concentrated in subsidiary Dow Chemicals), has announced that it had signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with US small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) company X-energy. Under that LoI, Dow and X-energy will work together to deploy the latter’s Xe-100 advanced high-temperature gas SMRs at a Dow industrial site on the Gulf of Mexico coast of the US. Dow will also take a minority shareholding in X-energy. This SMR nuclear power plant is expected to be operational by around 2030. It will provide both zero-carbon process heat and electricity to the Dow plant. The overall aim is to reduce Dow’s carbon emissions.
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