World powers ahead with renewables as South Africa’s draft plan signals pullback

While South Africa’s latest 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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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,... 

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... 

Four utility-scale battery projects worth R10bn selected following inaugural public tender

The South African government has selected preferred bidders for the development of four utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in the Northern Cape, with a combined investment... 

Finding immediate steel alternatives a concern as AMSA prepares to wind down longs unit

ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has indicated that it will enter discussions with buyers of its noncommodity long-steel products in an effort to limit the disruption that is set to arise because... 

Graphics confirm how ‘devastatingly bad’ loadshedding has been in 2023

South Africans are already painfully aware that 2023 has been a devastating year for power disruptions, with the latest bout of Stage 6 loadshedding having provided yet another traumatic reminder... 

No seamless extension

The Koeberg saga, much like South Africa’s ongoing efforts to tackle loadshedding decisively, hardly ever fails to disappoint. Having missed deadline after deadline, Africa’s only nuclear power... 

South Africa moves to procure 5GW of renewables, 2GW of gas-to-power, 615 MW of battery storage

The South African government has released three requests for proposals (RFPs) for new electricity generation and storage capacity, including 5 000 MW of new wind and solar, 2 000 MW of gas-to-power... 

South Africa launches renewables procurement round for 5 000 MW of wind and solar

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has released the much-anticipated and delayed seventh bid window (BW7) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme... 

Powerline industry warns it may not survive until grid roll-out ‘feast’ given current investment ‘famine’

The Power Operations & Leadership Association of Southern Africa (Polasa) believes the famine-then-feast profile of Eskom’s execution plan for the roll-out of new transmission infrastructure will... 

South Africa to release 2 500 MW nuclear RFP by March, despite electricity plan review

The South African government will publish a request for proposals (RFP) for 2 500 MW of new nuclear capacity by March 2024, following the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s)... 

Shrugging off sanctions risk, PetroSA aims to seal GTL refinery investment deal with GazpromBank by April

South Africa’s PetroSA aims to make a final investment decision (FID) by April on a project designed to support the resumption of production at the mothballed gas-to-liquids (GTL) refinery in... 

Ntshavheni confirms draft IRP 2023 contains ‘significant’ revisions, but offers no clarity on consultation process

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has confirmed that the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) approved by Cabinet for public comment includes two time horizons as well as significant... 

Koeberg Unit 2 to return in Sept, heightening risk of both units being out simultaneously

Eskom generation head Bheki Nxumalo has indicated that an extended outage at Koeberg Unit 2, which begins on December 11, is currently expected to continue until September 2024, increasing the... 

IRP update approved by Cabinet includes new coal decommissioning schedule

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reports that Cabinet has approved the release of an updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for public comment and also confirms that the document contains... 

Seifsa warns of dire consequences if govt fails to intervene on AMSA longs closure

The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) is calling on government to take urgent and decisive action to support the domestic steel sector following ArcelorMittal... 

Renewables bodies await publication of Eskom’s curtailment framework

The associations representing the wind and solar sectors as well as independent power producers (IPPs) more generally are eagerly awaiting a proposed curtailment addendum to Eskom’s Grid Connection... 

Aveng shifts ‘locus’ to Melbourne as it names new CEO

The locus of JSE-listed construction group Aveng is set to shift to Australia following the appointment of Scott Cummins, who currently leads McConnell Dowell, to succeed Sean Flanagan as CEO, as... 

New $1.8bn-plus concessional loan package signed to support JET-IP

South Africa has confirmed the signing of three new policy loan agreements – worth more than $1.8-billion – in support of the country’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP), the... 

Eskom to add synchronous condensers to network

Eskom is preparing to introduce 11 synchronous condensers – seven new and four repurposed – across its transmission system to support grid stability as the penetration of variable renewable-energy... 

No love, but some sympathy

There is not much love for ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA). The near-monopoly business is seen as over-protected, and under responsive by many of its customers. Many questions have been raised... 

Electricity reform bears fruit with 1 185 generators now registered with Nersa

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) reports that it registered a further 98 generation facilities – with a combined capacity of 908 MW and an investment value of R17.3-billion –... 

Spares deal expected to boost performance of straddle carriers at congested DCT Pier 2

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) has concluded a seven-year agreement with four original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for the supply of critical spares for equipment across its terminals, including... 

Report poses serious questions about effectiveness of scrap export ban

Serious questions about the effectiveness and desirability of South Africa’s prevailing scrap export ban have been raise in a new report, which calls for its immediate lifting unless evidence can... 

Two more solar projects from delayed BW5 set to begin construction in early 2024

Two 75-MW apiece solar photovoltaic (PV) projects bid under the much-delayed Bid Window Five (BW5) of South Africa’s public renewables procurement programme have officially advanced to commercial... 

Pioneering 195 MW solar plant to sell clean electricity to multiple customers nationwide

South African independent power producer the SOLA Group has started construction on a pioneering 195 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Free State, which will wheel and sell clean electricity... 

Red Rocket confirms initial 500 MW of interest in 2 000 MW virtual wheeling renewables scheme

Independent power producer (IPP) Red Rocket reports that it has signed up customers for 500 MW of the 2 000 MW of capacity it aims to deploy over the coming three years as part of an innovative... 

TNPA seeks bidders for big berth expansion at congested Durban terminal

The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has issued a tender for the reconstruction, deepening and lengthening of three berths at the Pier 2 North Quay of the currently congested Durban... 

Both Koeberg units to be offline from July unless NNR approves Eskom’s licence decoupling request in Jan

The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) will decide in January whether to grant Eskom’s request for the Koeberg Unit 1 and Unit 2 licences to be separated to reflect a later commercial operation date... 

Curtailment framework submitted to Nersa as new deadline is set for restart of IPP procurement

Eskom has confirmed that it has delivered a curtailment framework, as well as its proposed Gated Generator Connection Process (GGCP) to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for... 

Sasol appoints adviser to search for Boegoebaai hydrogen export hub coinvestors

A financial adviser has been appointed to assist Sasol in a search for potential coinvestors into a green hydrogen and ammonia export hub at Boegoebaai, in the Northern Cape, following the... 

Treasury says equity injection can be averted as it unveils R47bn Transnet guarantee

A R47-billion guarantee facility, effective immediately, has been extended to struggling State-owned freight logistics group Transnet in support of its recovery plan and to meet its immediate debt... 

Eskom’s hockey-stick-shaped grid deployment plan comes under scrutiny

The hockey-stick-curve shape of Eskom’s ten-year execution plan for delivering much-needed new transmission infrastructure continues to come under intense scrutiny from domestic industry, with... 

New Eskom curtailment framework to promptly unlock 4 GW of grid capacity in wind-rich provinces

Eskom has confirmed that it will release a curtailment addendum to its recently published Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA) that will unlock 4 GW of connection capacity immediately... 

Envisaged State petroleum company will be empowered to be involved in ‘any form of energy’

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has released a draft Bill for public comment outlining the establishment of the South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC), which the... 

Green growth and jobs

Transitioning South Africa’s energy ecosystem from its current over-reliance on coal to one progressively based on the country’s natural advantages of abundant sun, wind and land will take decades.... 

Mantashe says special Cabinet meeting will consider IRP update after Ministers request time to ‘apply their minds’

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe confirmed that an update of the Integrated Resource Plan, which he has previously dubbed ‘IRP2023’, had served before Cabinet on November 29,...