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Delayed coal decommissioning won’t ‘collapse our climate commitments’

The Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) is currently assessing the impact of South Africa’s decision to delay the decommissioning of the Hendrina, Grootvlei and Camden coal-fired power stations on the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which outlines the country’s decarbonisation goals. Eskom confirmed recently that Cabinet and board permission had been granted for the continued operation of the three power stations beyond their original decommissioning dates, owing to the ongoing shortage of supply and delays in adding new generation.
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Wheeling progressing in South Africa, the rest of Africa

The use of national electricity grids to wheel power from renewable-energy projects to demand centres is growing in Africa and helping to drive greater scale in the building of renewable-energy generation, says private equity investment group African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) investment principal Anyababa Ikem. Strides were being made to increase the ability of renewable-energy players, such as the projects AIIM invests in, to wheel power across infrastructure on the continent, he added during a May 24 briefing held by the company to showcase some of the $900-million worth of investments it had made into renewable-energy projects in Africa, to date.
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Uncertainty over coal jobs ahead of South Africa elections

Growing up surrounded by the towering smokestacks of coal-fired power stations, 22-year-old Siya Mokoena’s life is inextricably linked to the coal industry that dominates his hometown of Emalahleni in South Africa’s eastern province of Mpumalanga. Like many in Emalahleni, generations of Mokoena’s family have worked in the coal sector. His father, a miner, was laid off in March when his mine was shut down.
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Nersa extends deadline for comment on Eskom’s move to reserve grid for public IPPs

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has extended to June 17 the deadline for comment on Eskom’s application to preserve and reserve grid capacity for independent power producers (IPPs) participating in public procurement processes implemented in line with Section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA). The initial deadline was May 25.
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DBSA is working on transmission auction office

The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is negotiating with government ministries to establish an office that will manage auctions of transmission projects, a senior official at the state-owned institution said. The bank wants to build on its creation of the Independent Power Producer Office, which it handed over to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, that’s helped to realize utility-scale wind and solar projects, Michael Hillary, the DBSA’s group executive for financing operations, said in an interview.
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Desert to Power Initiative to transform Africa’s most vulnerable region into an energy hub

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has emphasised its role in delivering the Desert to Power Initiative, which aims to energise one of the least developed and most marginal parts of the continent. The Sahel region, which is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world, will become a solar energy hub, targeting 11 countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan. Desert to Power seeks to generate 10 GW of solar power by 2030 by …
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Nersa confirms registration of 105 more generators as overall number rises to 1 415

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) reports that it registered a further 105 generation facilities during the period from January to March 2024, raising to 1 415 the number of facilities registered since the system was introduced in 2018. In a statement, Nersa said the newly registered facilities had a combined capacity of  788 MW and a total investment value of R18.4-billion, increasing the overall capacity of registered projects to 7 158 MW and the total investment value to R131-billion.
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Smart metering to drive energy efficiency

The age-old practice of monthly meter readings is drawing to a close in the face of the modern world’s dynamic and fluctuating energy demands says utility metering management solutions provider Remote Metering Solutions (RMS) chief commercial officer Frikkie Malan. He explains that traditional methods and legacy systems no longer meet the demand of capturing the complete picture of energy consumption and building operations, necessitating a shift towards real-time load profile consumption data enabled by smart metering.
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Plans for acceleration of Eskom’s transmission expansion falling into place – Scheppers

Eskom Transmission CEO Segomoco Scheppers says he believes the “pieces are falling into place” that will allow the power utility to “ramp up and move faster” in expanding the country’s constrained power grid. Grid expansion will enable Eskom and independent power producers to bring much-needed new generation capacity online.
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Schneider launches local EV charging solution

Energy management and automation company Schneider Electric has launched a local electric vehicle (EV) charging solution, to cater for African countries’ transition away from fossil fuel-powered cars.

The solution, called EVLink, is part of Schneider’s EcoStructure eMobility offering and was developed in response to the lack of supporting infrastructure for EV charging on the continent.

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