Posts

Construction begins on wind farms to supply Secunda oxygen plants

Enel Green Power (EGP) South Africa has started construction of three new wind farms in the Eastern Cape, which will provide electricity to Air Liquide and Sasol in Secunda, Mpumalanga, through a wheeling framework agreement with Eskom. With a combined capacity of 330 MW, the Impofu East, Impofu West, and Impofu North projects will comprise 57 turbines, eight high-voltage substations, as well as 120 km of 132 kV high-voltage overhead electricity lines.
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Growthpoint says high interest rates will dent its full-year distributable income

Given the impact of high interest rates across its local and international businesses, JSE-listed Growthpoint Properties expects its distributable income per share (DIPS) to decline by 10% to 12% for the financial year to end on June 30. Despite achieving “robust” operational results across its local and international investments for the six-month period to December 31 2023, high interest rates globally have impacted on property values, equity and debt markets, and capitalisation and discount rates.
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New online portal launched to aid Cape Town’s solar PV boom

The City of Cape Town has launched a new online application portal for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. More than 5 000 solar PV systems have been authorised to date, totalling 126 MVA, with monthly applications to the city tripling between 2021 and 2023.
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South Africa should get off global regulator’s ‘grey list’ in 2025, says Kganyago

South Africa’s central bank governor said on Wednesday that he was confident the country would be removed from an international financial crime watchdog’s “grey list” next year, given the work that is under way to fix identified issues. The International Financial Action Task Force (FATF) last year placed South Africa on a “grey list” of countries under special scrutiny over implementing standards to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.
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Energy industry’s methane emissions near record despite pledges

Global methane emissions from fossil fuels held near a record high last year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual ‘Methane Tracker’ report, renewing concerns that governments and industry aren’t doing enough to stem releases of the devastating greenhouse gas. While the analysis highlighted progress in some places, on the whole it suggests global oil, gas and coal producers and governments are falling short of promises to cut methane emissions, directly jeopardizing global efforts to limit climate change. The fossil fuel industry must cut methane emissions 75% by 2030, the IEA said, in order to be on pace for net zero emissions in 2050, which aligns with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
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IPPO confirms May 30 renewables bid deadline as it moves to accommodate grid quotes and curtailment

The Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) has confirmed that the deadline for submissions under Bid Window Seven (BW7) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme has been extended by a month to May 30 to accommodate both grid-connection quotes and a curtailment addendum published by Eskom. The IPPO told Engineering News that a briefing note extending the timeline for application for grid cost estimate letters (CELs) to February 15 was issued at the end of January following requests from potential bidders at a bidders’ conference that took place on January 17.
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Tharisa launches its Redox One energy storage business

Integrated resource group Tharisa has launched its Redox One business, which develops long-term energy storage solutions that incorporate the raw materials produced by Tharisa. The company says its solutions use proprietary proven technology developed over decades, including by the National Aeronautics and Space Agency in the US, to deliver a mine-to-megawatt solution at a fraction of the cost of competing technologies.
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South Africa won’t need Electricity Minister by end of 2024

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said an anticipated improvement in electricity supply should see him out of a job by the end of 2024. The country, which has been plagued by crippling power cuts, will get an additional 6 000 megawatts of supply from State sources by the end of the year, Ramokgopa told an infrastructure conference organised by Ninety One Plc in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
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Rapid advancement in quality testing for large PV plants

The latest method of electroluminescence (EL) testing of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels for large plants is a game-changer for business and industry in South Africa, Heather Dugmore writes.
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Eskom mulls integration of Vgbe report recommendations into revised recovery plan but hints at …

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says Eskom’s new CEO, Dan Marokane, will offer a comprehensive outline of a revised generation recovery plan that will seek to integrate recommendations arising from various expert reports into the state of the coal power stations, including the hard-hitting Vgbe report commissioned by the National Treasury. However, Eskom Generation’s Eric Shunmagum also reported “some inaccuracies” with the report’s findings, which required further engagement with the National Treasury before the recommendations could be integrated.
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