Specialist design and manufacturing company Power Curve ApS has forged a strategic partnership with working at height specialists Dangle Rope Access, to help deliver specialist installation services for wind turbine performance upgrades across the UK’s wind farm sector. Announced in July, the partnership will combine Power Curve ApS wind turbine performance upgrade and testing services with Dangle’s range of flexible, high-quality and rapidly deployed access solutions.
Posts
Addressing the Manufacturing Circle annual general meeting (AGM) on September 22, Eskom CEO and former Manufacturing Circle former chairperson Andre de Ruyter said that investing in research, embracing innovation and technology and lowering manufacturing costs are equally critical in boosting manufacturing competitiveness, as is a collaborative approach.
The manufacturing sector has reached a “tipping point”, he said, adding that eliminating growth and investment barriers, while boosting the demand for local goods are just some of the measures required to place it on the path of success.
A new study, which outlines global best practices for just-transition journeys, includes ten lessons for South Africa to consider as the country prepares to navigate what it hopes will be a just transition, over the coming decades, from an electricity sector based on coal to one based increasingly on renewable energy. Published on September 23 by the RES4Africa Foundation, the study has been written in collaboration with South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and ERM.
Russia’s State-owned nuclear energy group Rosatom signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (Afcone) this week. The MoU, signed simultaneously in Pretoria and Moscow, provides for cooperation between the two organisations in the peace uses of nuclear energy. The MoU establishes the basis for Rosatom and Afcone to cooperate in assisting African countries in implementing nuclear energy projects. It also covers the diversification of African states’ energy sources (including the use of renewable energy) and increasing their energy security.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) says that Eskom should remain the buyer of the electricity produced by independent power producers (IPPs) and procured by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) in line with a new Section 34 Ministerial determination for 11 813 MW of new generation capacity. The regulator recently concurred with the determination and on September 22 published its reasons for that decision.
Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) has ramped up its solar power generation capacity, with seven of its 13 manufacturing facilities now using solar power. CCBSA is plans to install solar power capacity at a further five of its plants by the end of this year.
The 14.4 GW of new wind included in South Africa’s electricity plan positions the country as a “top ten” wind-energy market for the coming decade, while building capacity at the yearly tempo of 1 600 MW envisaged in the plan could attract R40-billion a year in new investment and create 144 000 fulltime jobs by 2030. Speaking during a Team Europe Climate Diplomacy webinar on Tuesday, Vestas sales director Malte Mayer said that the wind allocation in South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 (IRP 2019) had placed South Africa “on the wind industry’s map again”.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has informed the 64th session of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), via a video recording, that South Africa had started consultations with nuclear power reactor vendors, to obtain information about costs, schedules and possible ownership models. This was in line with the country’s Integrated Resource Plan 2019-2030 and the result of a Request for Information (RfI) issued in June. This RfI was based on an assumption of programme for 2 500 MW of nuclear power. He reaffirmed that nuclear would retain a “vital role” in the country’s energy mix. He pointed out that there was a “bigger role” for nuclear in transitioning South Africa from high carbon-emission energy sources to low carbon-emission ones, while simultaneously expanding the country’s energy supply. “We need to contest the space in the energy debate, for nuclear as a clean energy technology,” he said. “Scientific evidence is available to support our position.”
The main transformer of the 140 MW Kangnas wind farm, on the outskirts of Springbok, in the Northern Cape, was energised on September 21.
The 250 MVA transformer was locally manufactured and was transported to site from Gauteng by road.
Renewable energy lobby organisations the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) and the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) have joined forces with the Independent Power Producer Office, REEFSA and the Black Energy Professionals Association to launch of the Developing Developers Programme.
The programme, which consists of a seven-part series of workshops, aims to drive change, enhance the local skills base and ensure South Africa reaps the full benefits of a decarbonised economy.
INDUSTRY NEWS
WHERE TO FIND US
Address
9 Yellow Street
Botshabelo Industrial Area
Botshabelo, Free State
Call / Email Us
Tel: +27 (0) 51 534 1651
Email: info@transfix.co.za
