South African power supplier Eskom warned on Thursday it might be forced to resort to rolling blackouts again to ease pressure on the shaky national grid after a conveyor belt feeding coal into its Medupi generation units failed. The State-owned utility, which provides some 95 percent of the country’s electricity, has effected loadshedding intermittently for more than a decade as its ageing infrastructure has struggled to generate enough to meet demand.
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Africa has been listed, in a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report, as one of the locations that could emerge as dominant in the production of green hydrogen, which the agency says is required to extend the decarbonisation reach of renewable electricity to industries where the direct use of power is difficult, such as steel manufacturing and aviation. Published on September 10, the IEA’s ‘Energy Technology Perspectives 2020’ report says the global capacity of electrolysers, which produce hydrogen from water and electricity, will need to rise sharply as part of a broader, multi-technology effort to align the global energy system with international climate goals.
Power utility Eskom said on Thursday it was on track to install six new steam generators at its Koeberg nuclear power plant in 2021, with the first already in transit and expected to arrive in Cape Town later this month. The R4.3-billion project, which was unsuccessfully challenged in court by Westinghouse following its award to then French rival Areva, is seen as crucial for South African attempts to prolong Koeberg’s operations.
State-owned power utility Eskom on September 10 warned of an increased risk of load-shedding following the failure of a conveyor belt feeding coal into the Medupi generation units on September 9. This means the four generation units in service are not able to take in the requisite amount of coal to generate electricity, putting further strain on Eskom’s power supply.
The Bokpoort concentrated solar power (CSP) project has set a new winter production record of 21.7 GWh in August, surpassing a prior winter record of 19.5 GWh set in 2017.
The 50 MW CSP parabolic trough power plant is now in its fifth year of operation, after being approved during the second bid window of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Produer Procurement Programme.
International cooperation will be key to unlocking the competitive production of green hydrogen as global trade will be required to link those countries, such as South Africa, that are best suited to producing the energy carrier, using a combination of low-cost renewable energy, water and electrolysis, with the main consuming markets in Asia and Europe. In fact, the secretary-general of the German branch of World Energy Council (WEC), Dr Carsten Rolle, says that all of the nine countries that have already developed national hydrogen strategies make explicit mention of the need for international cooperation and trade to support the development of green-hydrogen projects.
An analysis of public infrastructure delivery in South Africa, prepared for consideration by the National Planning Commission (NPC), identifies the quality of procurement and client-delivery management as the main differentiators between those projects that have succeeded in recent years and those that have failed. Prepared by engineers Dr Ron Watermeyer and Dr Sean Phillips the analysis shows that, when a public-sector client adopts a strategic, rather than an administrative, stance to the design, procurement and implementation of infrastructure projects, value for money is typically secured.
Global lockdowns have highlighted the need for universal clean electrification as the natural environment has seemed to “rejuvenate spectacularly” in the wake of reduced human activity, offering a glimpse of what a cleaner world could look like, says global consultancy Kearney.
The Covid-19 pandemic’s abrupt arrival has disrupted the trajectory of many an industry and ushered in an unprecedented new socioeconomic era, the consultancy adds.
Departing in December, Capetonian Zirk Botha – a former naval combat officer and adventure racer – will undertake a 7 000 km solo rowing trip from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, with renewable energy company juwi Renewable Energies South Africa sponsoring his feat.
Botha, who also works for juwi, is undertaking to row in support of the environment and climate change.
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report. Sashnee Moodley:
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