Posts

Today’s well-supplied market for critical minerals ‘may not be a good guide for future’

A new International Energy Agency (IEA) report describes the sharp decline in critical mineral prices over the past year as a double-edged sword, cautioning that, while it has been a boon for clean energy deployment and affordability, it is a bane for critical mineral investment and diversification. The ‘Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024’ highlights that, following two years of dramatic increases, the prices of critical minerals fell steeply in 2023, returning to levels last seen before the pandemic.
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Boiler rebuild to be delivered to biomass power station

Flow control solutions developer Valmet announced in April that it would deliver a major boiler rebuild to the Steven’s Croft biomass power station in Lockerbie, Scotland in the UK, which is operated by energy infrastructure operator E.ON. The order is included in Valmet’s orders received in the first quarter 2024, and the rebuild will secure “trouble-free operation of the boiler for years to come”.
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Eyes turn to Union Buildings after NCOP approves Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has approved the Electricity Regulation Amendment (ERA) Bill, which has far-reaching implications for the future structure and operation of an electricity supply industry that has hitherto been dominated by Eskom. The Bill received support from all provinces besides the Free State, which lacked a mandate to vote, and the Western Cape, which argued that there had been insufficient time for provinces to consult their residents on the contents of the Bill.
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Opinion: Time to open the floodgates on infrastructure development

In this article, Stellenbosch University PhD student and Centre for Sustainability Transitions junior researcher Alboricah Rathupetsane writes about the impact of extreme weather events on South Africa’s infrastructure and the need for increased investment in infrastructure development, as well as to incorporate climate resilience in infrastructure.
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ANC walks political tightrope over coal plant shutdowns

In a ward where South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) won handily in local elections three years ago, party campaign worker Poppy Vilakazi has been getting a decidedly frosty reception lately. “Mostly they are angry,” she told Reuters, speaking in Komati, a village in the shadow of a shuttered power plant in Mpumalanga province, an ANC stronghold in the country’s coal belt.
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Salga energy head calls for post-election review of free basic electricity scheme

The head of energy at the South African Local Government Association (Salga) has called for a review of both the size of the free basic electricity (FBE) allocation as well as the way the grant is assigned, arguing that many indigent households are currently not benefiting from the scheme as intended. Speaking during a roundtable discussion on South Africa’s electrification programme as part of government’s ongoing activities to mark 30 years of democracy, Nhlanhla Ngidi described the current monthly allocation of 50 kWh as “minute” and well below the 300 kWh to 400 kWh that poor households were typically consuming.
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Kinetiko thrilled with successful onshore gas-to-power demonstration in South Africa

ASX-listed Kinetiko Energy has successfully demonstrated that it can produce gas-to-power (GtP) from an onshore natural gas resource at its Amersfoort project, in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The company is focused on developing an energy transition solution for South Africa focused on commercialising advanced shallow conventional gas projects in the country’s Mpumalanga, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
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EWSETA, partners to advance women in electrical, renewable energy fields in Limpopo

The Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA), the US Agency for International Development (USAID) – in support of Power Africa, a US government-led partnership – and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) South Africa, launched Phase 2 of the Just Energy Transition (JET) Technical Training for Women in Electrical and Renewable Energy Programme, in Limpopo, on May 10. Women electricians and artisans in Limpopo will receive specialised technical training at seven technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in the province.
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Ramaphosa denies pre-election loadshedding respite is a ‘political ploy’

President Cyril Ramaphosa has entered the politically charged discussion on the reasons behind the recent dramatic reduction in loadshedding ahead of what is expected to be a highly competition election and amid allegations that the reprieve is being staged managed to improve the governing party’s prospects and will, thus, not be sustained. Writing in his weekly newsletter at a time which Eskom had refrained from implementing the unpopular rotational power cuts for a period of more than a month and a half, Ramaphosa denied that it was a “political ploy ahead of the elections”, while indicating that it was “too early to say that loadshedding has been brought to an end”.
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Michelin research shows how transporters can reduce total cost of ownership

Tyre manufacturer Michelin has launched its latest research focused on total cost of ownership, which is aimed at shifting the mindsets of South African transporters to run more efficient and sustainable fleets. The ‘2023 Decarbonising South Africa’s Transport Sector’ outlines that transport is the third-largest emitting sector in South Africa, with almost 55-million tonnes of CO2 emissions, contributing more than 10% to the country’s national gross emissions.
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