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Electricity News

Union attacks Necsa board, claiming retrenchments and privatisations planned

By: Rebecca Campbell 12th June 2019 The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) asserted on Wednesday that it had “reliably learnt” that the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation’s (Necsa’s) board was proposing to retrench 400 employees and perhaps sell public assets. These proposals were part of a... →

Commission finds Eskom failed to comply with BBBEE Act

By: Simone Liedtke 12th June 2019 The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Commission has found that State-owned Eskom failed to comply with the BBBEE Act in awarding a tender for the Duvha power station to a Chinese-owned entity. The tender was awarded to Dongfang Electric Corporation, an entity with 0% black ownership... →

Erratic weather boosts energy demand, denting climate goals – BP

By: Reuters 11th June 2019 Extreme temperatures around the globe drove a sharp acceleration in energy demand and carbon emissions last year, oil giant BP said on Tuesday, issuing a stark warning that the world risks losing the battle against climate change. And while 2018 saw another sharp pick up in renewable power such... →

Ugandan critics oppose Nile river power plant plan

By: Reuters 11th June 2019 A plan by South Africa's Bonang Power and Energy to develop a 360 MW power plant on Uganda's River Nile has met resistance from critics who say the project will destroy the popular tourist attraction of Murchison Falls. Located on the Nile between the Ugandan lakes Kyoga and Albert, the Murchison... →

Greenpeace study recommends Eskom sell its coal-fired power stations

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 11th June 2019 A study commissioned by Greenpeace Africa recommends that State-owned Eskom, as part of its reform, gradually spin out its coal-fired power generation activities to new generation companies that will operate the power plants for the remainder of their operating lives. Greenpeace had commissioned... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Terence Creamer
The Lethabo power station

Kenya coal plant's power could cost ten times more, group says

By: Bloomberg 11th June 2019 Electricity from a planned coal-fired plant in Lamu, Kenya might cost ten times as much as its developers suggest, according to an energy group that wants the project canceled. The plant, which will require an estimated $2-billion investment, is projected to be able to produce 1 050 MW of... →

eSwatini calls for solar power bids to ease reliance on South Africa's Eskom

By: Reuters 11th June 2019 The kingdom of eSwatini has called for bids to build 40 MW of solar power capacity to reduce reliance on South Africa's troubled state power firm Eskom. The kingdom, formerly known as Swaziland, imports 80% of its electricity from South Africa, where the cash-strapped national supplier has... →

Renergen dual listing to provide benefit of Australian research, understanding

By: Simone Liedtke 10th June 2019 Emerging liquid helium and liquid natural gas (LNG) producer Renergen’s recent listing on the ASX will benefit the company by giving it access to Australian research and industry understanding, CEO Stefano Marani tells Engineering News Online. Renergen, which is also listed on the JSE’s AltX,... →

Renergen CEO Stefani Marani discusses the company’s recent ASX-listing and the company’s Virginia gas project with Engineering News Online. Video & Editing: Creamer Media’s Darlene Creamer 10.6.2019

Bushveld Energy partners with US company on vanadium electrolyte rental product

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 10th June 2019 Aim-listed Bushveld Minerals’ 84%-owned Bushveld Energy subsidiary has enabled the successful deployment of a vanadium electrolyte rental product in industrial-scale batteries developed and sold by Avalon Battery Corporation of Fremont, California. Bushveld Energy and Avalon worked together to... →

South Africa should go all out with platinum and manganese to be in best of two decarbonising worlds

By: Martin Creamer 10th June 2019 South Africa, which has a wonderful platinum group metals (PGMs) endowment and an abundance of high-quality manganese ore, should go all out to be in the best of two new carbon-reducing technology worlds. On the one hand, it should do all it can to be in the world of hydrogen with the help of... →

Photo by Toyota/Anglo American
A fuel cell electric vehicle requires platinum

Environmental organisations take Highveld pollution matter to court

By: Marleny Arnoldi 10th June 2019 Environmental justice group groundWork and community organisation Vukani Environment Justice Movement in Action have launched “landmark litigation”, demanding that government clean up the air in the Mpumalanga Highveld. GroundWork and Vukani on June 7 served papers to the High Court, asking that... →

Russia’s latest great game in Africa: energy

By: African News Agency 10th June 2019 Vladimir Putin has made no secret of his intention to return Russia to its previous glory as a world power by all means available to him, not least of which has been military aggression such as in Crimea. But on the African continent, where Russia has no colonial hangover like Europe or the... →

Solar plant to power Pietermaritzburg Mall

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 7th June 2019 Liberty Two Degrees (L2D) and Liberty Group, co-owners of Liberty Midlands Mall, have completed the R12-million installation of a 1 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at the centre. The plant was commissioned on the roof structure of the mall’s 22 000 m2 Lifestyle Centre. →

Aerial View

Producer achieves 35% emission reduction, supports carbon tax

By: Cameron Mackay 7th June 2019 Construction materials supplier AfriSam has reduced the company’s carbon emissions, per ton of cement produced, by 35% from 1990 to 2018 and is focusing on further carbon reductions, sustainability and the implementation of the carbon tax in South Africa. “The 35% is close to the targets being... →

CARBON TAX COMPLICATIONS AfriSam has significantly reduced its carbon emissions

Eskom may be ‘too big to support’, S&P warns

By: Terence Creamer 6th June 2019 S&P Global Ratings has warned that, while South Africa’s State-owned electricity utility Eskom is currently considered too big to fail, it may well also be “too big to support”, owing to the costs associated with stabilising the group’s finances. Speaking during a webcast on Thursday, sovereign... →

Reatile Group invests in solar EPC company juwi

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 6th June 2019 Reatile Renewables has acquired a 20% interest in juwi Renewable Energies’ engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company. Juwi’s EPC company is currently building three projects that were procured under Round 4 of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement... →

SAWEA supports small-scale embedded generation

By: Marleny Arnoldi 6th June 2019 The time has come for South Africa to reconsider how energy is supplied and to evolve and adapt its outdated systems, says the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA). SAWEA said in a release on Thursday that the country should start shifting away from a centralised monopoly to a more... →

TCTA comes up with power alternative amid ‘war zone’ at Mintails plant

By: Marleny Arnoldi 6th June 2019 The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority on Thursday announced that its acid mine drainage water treatment plant in the Western basin, near Krugersdorp, could not be reopened as planned on June 4. This was owing to an escalating security threat at the adjacent Mintails gold treatment plant, where... →

Ramaphosa meets State firm chiefs after resignations

By: Reuters 6th June 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa held talks on Wednesday with executives of key state companies, including power utility Eskom and South African Airways, to discuss challenges they face, his office said. The meeting follows resignations of Eskom and SAA chief executives, moves that investors said could... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

South Africa’s wind power construction to peak at above 1 GW in 2020/21 – WoodMac

By: Schalk Burger 5th June 2019 Wind energy construction activity in South Africa will peak at more than 1 GW of capacity in 2020/21 as developers race to operationalise projects that were awarded during the fourth bid window of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme, says Wood Mackenzie... →

ANC says ten sectors to be prioritised under ‘re-imagined industrial strategy’

By: Terence Creamer 4th June 2019 The African National Congress (ANC) has unveiled what it describes as a “re-imagined industrial strategy” as part of a broader five-year programme of action agreed at the party’s three-day lekgotla, which concluded in Gauteng on Tuesday. In a statement released following the gathering, the ANC... →

Departures at State firms could drag out Ramaphosa's reforms

By: Reuters 4th June 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa's mission to fix two of South Africa's most troubled state companies, power firm Eskom and South African Airways, could take longer than planned after their chief executives quit within a week of each other. Investors say the CEOs' resignations could slow the... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Companies merge into Sola Group to meet renewable energy demand

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 3rd June 2019 Aurora Power Solutions and Sola Future Energy are combining forces to form Sola Group, bringing together a large solar project pipeline, including 48 MW in Zambia and 79 MW in South Africa. The two companies merged in March 2018 and, as of June 1, have consolidated their offering as a vertically... →

Solar farm

Hulisani says GRI division’s prospects improving

By: Marleny Arnoldi 3rd June 2019 JSE-listed energy investment firm Hulisani increased its dividends for the financial year ended February 28, to R36.9-million, from R18.1-million in the prior financial year. This was on the back of 60% higher dividends received from the Kouga Wind Farm, at R24-million, while those from... →

Globeleq kicks off solar PV project construction in Kenya

By: Marleny Arnoldi 3rd June 2019 Africa-focused independent power producer (IPP) Globeleq has started construction of its 40 MW Malindi solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Malindi, Kenya. The $69-million project, located about 120 km northeast of Mombasa, recently reached financial close. →

‘Blanket deviation’ does not exempt 1 MW to 10 MW projects from licensing process – Nersa

By: Terence Creamer 31st May 2019 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) is ready to consider licence applications for small-scale embedded generator (SSEG) plants between 1 MW and 10 MW in line with the “blanket deviation” from the Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) provided by former Energy Minister Jeff Radebe in a... →

Zimbabwe says mines can pay for power in foreign currency to secure supply

By: Reuters 31st May 2019 Zimbabwe mining companies can pay for electricity in foreign currency to guarantee supplies, the energy minister said on Friday, a day after he indicated there could be deeper power cuts in the country due to low dam water levels. Fortune Chasi said on Thursday the country's largest hydroelectric... →

Standard Bank shareholders vote for disclosure on lending to coal projects

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 31st May 2019 In a first for South Africa, climate-conscious shareholders of Standard Bank have compelled the bank to adopt and publicly disclose a policy on lending to coal-fired power projects and coal mining operations. Fifty-five per cent of shareholders in attendance at the bank’s annual general meeting... →

Oil monitoring technology prolongs gearbox life

31st May 2019 Advanced monitoring technology company Atten2 presented its OilHealth and OilWear on-line optical sensors at the Wind O&M EU 2019 trade fair, held in February in Munich, Germany. Atten2 produces and markets the OilHealth and OilWear on-line optical sensors for the analysis of industrial fluids,... →

WINDING ME UP The wind turbine’s gearbox and oil efficacy can be monitored by sensors

Sector shows decline despite strong market growth

By: Mamaili Mamaila 31st May 2019 Although the local chemicals sector has recently been characterised by strong market growth, it has shown a consistently weak performance, with its contribution to total manufacturing output having declined significantly over the past ten years, says the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)... →

Photo by Bloomberg
RAW MATERIALS Domestic chemical firms face multiple challenges such as access to appropriately priced feedstock, as well as large volumes of raw chemical materials that continue to be imported and are subject to exchange rate fluctuations

In letter to nation, Radebe says he looks forward to new possibilities

30th May 2019 South Africa's longest-serving Cabinet Minister Jeff Radebe has made the following media statement after not being included in President Cyril Ramaphosa's 28-member executive team. →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Jeff Radebe

Zimbabwe power cuts may deepen as water levels fall at Kariba Dam

By: Reuters 30th May 2019 Zimbabwe's largest hydroelectric plant, Kariba Dam, will suspend output in 14 weeks if water levels continue to fall at the current rate, the energy minister said on Thursday, paving the way for deeper power cuts in the country. The Southern African nation has endured its worst rolling power cuts... →

Globeleq adds four more plants to South African renewables portfolio

By: Terence Creamer 30th May 2019 Africa-focused independent power producer Globeleq announced on Thursday that it had acquired four more South African renewable-energy plants, adding to an existing 238 MW wind and solar portfolio in the country. The plants and the asset management company were purchased from an affiliate of... →

The Konkoonsies plant

South African solar tracker receives international certification

By: Simone Liedtke 29th May 2019 Solar tracking system manufacturer PiA Solar is now the first, in both the southern hemisphere and in Africa, to qualify for the international design standard IEC 62817 certification. In order to qualify for the certification PiA Solar built a climate test chamber in Port Elizabeth, where... →

We need serious overhaul of Cabinet to attract foreign investment – Prof Duvenhage

By: Sane Dhlamini 28th May 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa needs to introduce a major overhaul of his Cabinet if he is to attract foreign investment, says political analyst Professor Andre Duvenhage. Duvenhage was addressing members of the business organisation Sakeliga in Centurion on Tuesday as the country anticipates the... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Eskom insiders provide 'very limited' choices to replace CEO

By: Bloomberg 28th May 2019 Eskom Holdings’ 96-year history is replete with former CEOs who rose from within South Africa’s debt-laden State utility to run the company. There are few obvious choices for the next CEO to come from those same ranks. Two possible candidates from Eskom’s executive team to replace Phakamani... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Eskom CFO Calib Cassim

Brazilians score following African Utility Week

By: Kim Cloete 28th May 2019 Brazilian companies are expected to generate business of $5.3-million over the next year as a result of the recent African Utility Week and PowerGEN Africa conference and exhibition. The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, Apex-Brasil, in partnership with the Brazilian Association of... →

Delegates from Brazil attended the African Utility Week in South Africa

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