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Zimbabwe power users raise $250m for solar plan

Zimbabwe’s industrial power users have secured $250-million from the African Export-Import Bank to build floating solar panels at the world’s largest man-made lake. The Intensive Energy User Group, made up of mining companies including a former local unit of Rio Tinto and Mimosa, plan a 250 MW plant at the Kariba Dam to be implemented in 18 months, according to a copy of its presentation seen by Bloomberg. That can be expanded to 1 GW of solar capacity.
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Fixing logistics, water sectors still long way to go in South Africa – BLSA

While South Africa is starting to see the fruits of energy sector reforms, it still has a long way to go to fix the water, and transport and logistics sectors despite recent progress, says business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso. BLSA supported the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC) in its efforts to develop the Freight Logistics Roadmap, with an important success being the establishment of the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Management company, with its own management and reporting structure separate from Transnet Freight Rail.
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Ramaphosa reflects on government progress, notes slow pace of economic growth

President Cyril Ramaphosa pointed out on Monday that strengthening local government is the Government of National Unity’s (GNU’s) key priority, noting disruptions in the supply of electricity and clean water in many districts. Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to nation that many local councils are plagued by “poor governance, limited capacity and severe financial constraints”, all of which are affecting service delivery.
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Eskom, NTCSA brief lawmakers

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the key themes that emerged during a briefing by Eskom and the National Transmission Company South Africa to lawmakers this week. The briefing focused on the Transmission Development Plan and its implementation, private sector participation in the grid and Eskom’s plans to remain a big contributor of electricity generation.
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Growth drives job creation, skills development

Namibia is undergoing a transformative period in energy development, with significant developments in the traditional and renewable-energy sectors. Recent oil and gas discoveries in the Orange basin, together with green hydrogen and renewable-energy projects, offer strategic opportunities for economic growth, job creation and skills development, says technical recruitment specialist Workforce Staffing Namibia country manager Julien Karambua.
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Green hydrogen project aims to advance sustainability goals

The Daures Green Hydrogen Village (DGHV) project, in the Erongo region of Namibia, has the potential to produce 5.6 GW of renewable energy comprising 5.1 GW solar and 427 MW wind power. Of this generated power, about 700 MW will be curtailed power, a further 70 MW of which will be fed into the national grid, says DGHV business development manager Dr Lutz-Heiner Otto.
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Africa50 signs agreement to manage International Solar Alliance’s Africa Solar Facility

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Africa50 have signed a landmark term sheet laying out the key terms on which Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investor and asset manager, will manage and implement the Africa Solar Facility (ASF).  The term sheet was signed on the sidelines of the Africa Investment Forum Market Days in Rabat, Morocco.
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SOLA has produced 1bn kilowatt-hours of clean electricity

Renewable energy company SOLA Group has produced one-billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy, reaching this goal one month earlier than planned. The company produced the majority of this amount over the past few months, says SOLA MD Katherine Persson.
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Eskom outlines ‘aspirational’ generation vision in meeting with lawmakers

Eskom Group CEO Dan Marokane has outlined an “aspirational” and largely unfunded new generation project pipeline to progressively replace its aged and polluting coal fleet. Having previously declared that Eskom had a 22 GW project portfolio, Marokane told members of the Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy that the generation division, which is yet to be unbundled, was “working on a pipeline of new clean energy to ensure security of supply in the long term”.
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High Court says State can’t order new coal plants

South Africa’s High Court upheld a legal challenge to the government’s plan to procure 1 500 megawatts of new coal-fired power, ruling that it was unlawful because of the potential impact on public health. Plans for more electricity from the dirtiest fossil fuel in South Africa, which has the most carbon-intensive economy among the Group of 20 nations, violate the constitutional right to health, Judge C.J. van der Westhuizen wrote in a ruling released on Wednesday.
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