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Proposed new IRP met with some skepticism

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the background to the publication for public comment of the latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP); the main changes in the IRP 2023, compared with the IRP 2019; the initial reaction to the new IRP; and the public commentary process.
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World powers ahead with renewables as South Africa’s draft plan signals pullback

While South Africa’s draft electricity plan is signalling a pullback in renewables investments for the period to 2030 relative to the prevailing policy, the rest of the world is powering ahead, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) reporting that 50% more renewables capacity was installed globally in 2023 than in 2022 and with record-breaking growth forecast for the coming five years. In its ‘Renewables 2023’ report, the IEA states that 507 GW of renewable-energy capacity was installed last year increasing the installed base to about 3 600 MW, with solar photovoltaic (PV) accounting for three-quarters of worldwide additions.
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Preferred bidder selected to build and operate Richards Bay LNG terminal

South Africa’s State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has announced that it has selected a public-private consortium as the preferred bidder to develop and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Port of Richards Bay’s South Dunes precinct.  The Vopak & TPL Consortium Venture was selected following a bidding process for an entity to design, develop, construct, finance, operate, and maintain the LNG terminal for a period of 25 years.
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No plan yet for public hearings into gas-heavy draft IRP 2023

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has belatedly released the background technical information that has been used to inform the assumptions included in the draft Integrated Resource Plan of 2023 (IRP 2023) and will host two virtual workshops this month to provide greater insight into the plan. However, no formal public hearings are scheduled either ahead of or after the February 23 deadline for the submission of written comments, despite serious and growing concern over the plan’s assumptions and outcomes.
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Sasol’s Mabelane to head board at Eskom’s unbundled grid company, NTCSA

The inaugural board of directors of the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA), which was announced by the Eskom board on Tuesday, will be chaired by Priscillah Mabelane, who is also the executive VP of Sasol’s energy business. The long-awaited appointment represents as significant milestone in the legal separation of Eskom into three separate entities of generation, distribution and transmission, as outlined in the Department of Public Enterprises’ 2019 ‘Roadmap for Eskom in a reformed electricity supply industry’.
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‘Back to the drawing board’ for govt as Karpowership SA, others lose grid access – Ramokgopa

Government has to “go back to the drawing board” now that Karpowership SA and two other emergency power projects lost their grid access, says Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. The minister was speaking on Tuesday at a briefing on the progress of government’s Energy Action Plan.
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Ramokgopa seeks to unlock private finance for 6 000 km of new grid in coming three years

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the current plan for rolling out grid infrastructure, particularly in the coming three years, is insufficient to end loadshedding and should, thus, be accelerated with the support of private investment, as well as funding from the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP). In his inaugural briefing for 2024, Ramokgopa highlighted that, following a recent memorandum of understanding clarifying his powers relative to those of Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gorhan, he had been given responsibility for ensuring that transmission-related constraints were addressed.
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Busa warns that lack of detail in IRP 2023 makes it impossible to assess plan’s credibility

Business Unity South Africa (Busa) will approach the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to secure the technoeconomic information that has been used to inform the assumptions contained in the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which was released for public comment on January 4 absent an associated data book. The head of Busa’s energy and environment desk, Happy Khambule, tells Engineering News that the document is “thin on detail” and that, without securing the additional data, it will be impossible to assess its credibility, including the significant changes to the generation technology allocations for the period from 2024 to 2030 when compared with the prevailing IRP 2019.
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South Africa to add further solar PV in 2024 – Scatec

Renewable energy company Scatec says solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity will grow significantly in South Africa this year and will continue to replace fossil-fuel-based traditional energy sources, as more homes and businesses make the switch to solar. Further, solar PV’s installed power capacity is poised to surpass that of coal, becoming the largest power source in the world by 2027, the company adds.
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Opinion: The grid’s the thing

In this opinion article, Mike Levington argues that using renewable energy to meet South Africa’s economic and developmental goals will require a significant shift in thinking about the grid.
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