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Renewable Energy News

Orion mulls solar, wind energy generation options for Prieska project

By: Marleny Arnoldi 5th March 2019 ASX-listed Orion Minerals on Tuesday announced that it had signed a renewable energy generation collaboration agreement with Juwi Renewable Energies South Africa to investigate the renewable energy generation potential at the Prieska zinc/copper project, in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.... →

Togo to subsidise solar energy systems for citizens living in rural areas

By: Marleny Arnoldi 1st March 2019 Plug-and-play solar system manufacturer BBOXX’s customers in Togo will start receiving a subsidy from government to spend on solar energy. This is the first government subsidy for the purpose of solar energy payments in Africa. →

Africa’s first solar-powered desalination plant passes 10 000 kℓ mark

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 27th February 2019 Africa’s first solar-powered seawater desalination plant, the OSMOSUN plant, designed by Mascara and located in Witsand, in the Hessequa municipality, in the Western Cape, has produced more than 10 000 kℓ of drinkable water. The plant has been fully operational since December 20, 2018, providing... →

The OSMOSUN plan

DBSA granted $100m to establish embedded generation investment programme

By: Marleny Arnoldi 27th February 2019 The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has extended funding of $100-million to the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to establish the Embedded Generation Investment Programme (EGIP). Embedded generation entails the production of electricity from generation facilities that are connected to the... →

Radebe sets the record straight on impact of IPP costs on Eskom

27th February 2019 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about Energy Minister Jeff Radebe’s statements that independent power producers are not the cause of power utility Eskom’s financial problems and how government intends to approach the expensive renewables plants... →

Radebe sets the record straight on impact of IPP costs on Eskom.

US government agency’s backing of Tetra4 takes project ‘to next level’ – Renergen CEO

By: Simone Liedtke 27th February 2019 Integrated alternative and renewable energy business Renergen on Wednesday announced that the US government’s development finance institution, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), had approved a $40-million loan facility in favour of Tetra4’s Virginia gasfield project. Tetra4 is a... →

Cape Town to petition court to allow electricity purchases from independent producers

By: African News Agency 26th February 2019 The city of Cape Town said on Tuesday it was asking the North Gauteng high court to treat a pending court matter between itself, the energy minister and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa regarding electricity procurement as urgent. Cape Town wants itself and other municipalities... →

SAIPPA welcomes Radebe’s statement on REIPPPP

By: Marleny Arnoldi 26th February 2019 The South African Independent Power Producer Association (SAIPPA) has welcomed Energy Minister Jeff Radebe’s statement regarding the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). During a briefing on Sunday, the Minister discussed the context and chronology of... →

KenGen gets contract with Ethiopian Electric Power for geothermal drilling

By: Reuters 25th February 2019 Kenya's KenGen on Monday said it secured a multimillion-shilling contract to provide geothermal drilling services to State-run Ethiopian Electric Power. The power producer's contract with East Africa's largest power producing company is being funded by the World Bank through a loan to the... →

Zambia, Zimbabwe cut Kariba Dam power generation

By: Reuters 25th February 2019 Zambia and Zimbabwe reduced power generation to around half capacity at their power stations at the Kariba Dam as water levels in the reservoir fell, Zambia’s State-owned Zesco said on Monday. Zesco spokesperson Henry Kapata said power generation on both the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides had been... →

Radebe says South Africa has no intention of renegotiating renewables PPAs

By: Terence Creamer 24th February 2019 Energy Minister Jeff Radebe says government has no intention of renegotiating the power purchase agreements (PPAs) for renewable-energy projects procured in 2011 and 2012, but has left the door open for a “refinancing” of the projects in the interest of lowering the cost of the plants to the... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Energy Minister Jeff Radebe

Zambia, Zimbabwe shortlist foreign firms to build hydro plant

By: Reuters 21st February 2019 Zambia and Zimbabwe have shortlisted American, European and Chinese companies to build the Batoka Gorge hydro power plant, the ministry of finance said in statement on Wednesday. Preparatory studies, including engineering feasibility, for the 2 400 MW power station will be completed by end of the... →

Africa still slow to take up EVs, energy storage solutions

By: Marleny Arnoldi 20th February 2019 Globally, there is a rise in the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) and battery storage systems, especially in regions where there is a lack of constant, reliable energy supply or more economically feasible solutions, Electric Vehicle Industry Association representative Carel Snyman said during a... →

AfDB optimistic about Eskom’s turnaround prospects

By: Terence Creamer 19th February 2019 The African Development Bank (AfDB), which has extended billions of rands in loans to Eskom, says it is optimistic the actions being taken to turnaround the embattled South African power utility will bear fruit. Power, energy, climate and green growth complex VP Amadou Hott told Engineering News... →

Photo by Creamer Media
AfDB power, energy, climate and green growth complex VP Amadou Hott

Sun Exchange signs fund agreement with Decentral Energy for solar projects

By: Schalk Burger 19th February 2019 Solar-generation microleasing platform Sun Exchange on Tuesday announced that it had signed an agreement with Johannesburg-based boutique clean energy fund manager Decentral Energy, said Sun Exchange founder and CEO Abe Cambridge. The agreement gives Decentral’s Grovest Energy, an Income Tax Act... →

473 kW Nioro Plastics solar project

Nampak marks 50 years on JSE amid moves to streamline and reduce environmental footprint

By: Terence Creamer 19th February 2019 Packaging group Nampak, which celebrated 50 years on the JSE on February 19, is a markedly different business from the one that has its roots in a cardboard box-making factory established by John Herzberg in Waterkant Street, Cape Town, in 1918. Rising levels of automation across a portfolio of... →

Motsepe rejects Eskom conspiracy claims as ‘ridiculous’, but admits to ‘serious’ perception problem

By: Terence Creamer 18th February 2019 Black business luminary Patrice Motsepe has labelled as “ridiculous” a recurring allegation that African Rainbow Energy & Power (AREP) is part of an unscrupulous plan to collapse Eskom and supplant the State-owned power utility with independent power producers (IPPs), in which the business would... →

Photo by Creamer Media
AREP chairperson Patrice Motsepe

African market is opening up to corporate PPAs – Baker McKenzie

By: Marleny Arnoldi 15th February 2019 At a time when electricity tariffs are increasing and the shift towards greener energy is gaining momentum, law firm Baker McKenzie says Africa is starting to see a surge in the signing of corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs). →

Gordhan’s IPP renegotiation proposal triggers ‘breach of contract’ warnings

By: Terence Creamer 15th February 2019 A report indicating that the South African government may seek to renegotiate power purchase agreements (PPAs) concluded with independent power producers (IPPs) in 2011 and 2012 is raising alarm bells within the industry, which is still recovering from a protracted period of uncertainty created... →

Tanzania hydropower dam to cost more than double government estimate – study

By: Reuters 15th February 2019 Tanzania's Stiegler's Gorge Dam, due to be built on a Unesco World Heritage site, will cost more than double the government's estimates, an independent study showed on Thursday. In December, Tanzania signed a deal with two Egyptian companies, El Sewedy Electric Co and Arab Contractors, to build... →

'South Africans must take climate change seriously' – Ramaphosa

By: News24Wire 15th February 2019 It is time for South Africans to take climate change seriously, said President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday in his response to the debate on his State of the Nation Address. He said if South Africa is a country that prioritises the interests of the poor and the vulnerable, then we need to act with... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Event set to dissect the future of African energy

By: Paige Müller 15th February 2019 The eleventh edition of the Africa Energy Indaba – which will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg, from February 19 to 20 this year – will focus on the future prospects and direction of energy on the African continent from an energy provision and investment point of view.... →

Photo by Duane Daws
AFRICA’S ENERGY FUTURE The Africa Energy Indaba will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg, from February 19 and 20 this year

Power utility business models set to change

15th February 2019 According to Africa Energy Indaba organiser Siyenza, African power utilities must respond appropriately to impending forces to prevent being surpassed by technological and market change. The organiser explains that several disruptive forces are set to threaten the traditional power utility... →

Photo by Duane Daws
A CHANGING FUTURE Several disruptive forces are set to threaten the traditional power utility business model

SA company receives multibillion-dollar contract

15th February 2019 Construction and engineering company Clough, a wholly owned subsidiary of South African engineering company Murray & Roberts - and part of the Clough Salini Impregilo Joint Venture (JV) - has been selected as the preferred tenderer for the multibillion Australian dollar civil works for the... →

SO MUCH DAM WATER The Snowy 2.0 project with reuse water through a pumping system to keep the grid running

Energy capacity shortfalls stunting Africa’s industrialisation efforts

By: Paige Müller 15th February 2019 Insurance company the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC) says there are significant shortfalls and backlogs in Africa’s installed energy capacity, which is stunting the continent’s efforts to industrialise and expand its local economies. ECIC COO Mandisi Nkuhlu stresses... →

UPDATING INFRASTRUCTURE The ECIC is aiding Mozambique State utility Electricidade de Mocambique in a project to finance the rehabilitation of the country’s electricity infrastructure in northern Mozambique and in Maputo

Renewables ensure cleaner national energy

By: Paige Müller 15th February 2019 The wide-scale adoption of renewable energy projects throughout South Africa will result in a more cost-effective and cleaner national energy supply, says renewable-energy development and management company G7 Renewable Energies. “About 20 years ago, the renewables debate was about environmental... →

Photo by Duane Daws
AFFORDABLE ENERGY For the first time, South Africa is seeing a real opportunity to buck the trend of ever-increasing electricity tariffs

Renewable grids present investment opportunity

By: Paige Müller 15th February 2019 The recent trend towards the development of renewable energy, including those based on smart grids and microgrids in Africa, has encouraged the establishment of a new renewable energy equity fund. With the Africa Energy Indaba set to take place from February 19 to 20 at the Sandton Convention... →

Photo by Bloomberg
GAS ON THE RISE There has been and increase in the development of gas-fired power stations throughout Africa

As renewables soar, BP sees China hitting brakes on energy growth

By: Reuters 14th February 2019 Global demand for renewable power will soar at an unprecedented pace over the coming decades, BP said in a benchmark report on Thursday, while China’s energy growth is seen sharply decelerating as its economic expansion slows. Still, China is set to remain the largest energy consumer by a long... →

KenGen to raise funds from the market this year, eyes green bond

By: Reuters 14th February 2019 The Kenya Electricity Generating Company plans to raise funds from the market later this year and it may opt to issue the country's first green bond, its chief executive said. KenGen has a 1 631 MW annual capacity and it supplies 70% of the East African nation's electricity. Private investors... →

Enel starts construction of 140 MW Eastern Cape wind farm

By: Simone Liedtke 12th February 2019 Italy’s Enel, through its renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power RSA (EGP RSA), has started construction of its 140 MW Nxuba wind farm in the Amatole district, making it the group’s third wind project in the Eastern Cape province. The construction of Nxuba, which is expected to be completed by... →

Battle lines drawn as opposition parties contest Ramaphosa’s Eskom unbundling plan

By: Terence Creamer 12th February 2019 The future structure of South Africa’s debt-laden electricity producer Eskom emerged as the central topic during the debate on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s February 7 State of the Nation Address (SONA), in which he announced that the utility would be split, under Eskom Holdings, into three... →

Opinion: Are there really more jobs in coal than in renewables?

By: Tobias Bischof-Niemz 12th February 2019 There is considerable support in South Africa for the notion that a transition in the electricity system from coal to renewable energy will trigger a jobs bloodbath at both Eskom and the Mpumalanga coal mines. A detailed analysis of the job numbers, however, suggests quite the opposite. In fact,... →

Dr Tobias Bischof-Niemz

Electrical equipment group aims to penetrate new markets with integrated offering

By: Terence Creamer 12th February 2019 Electrical products manufacturer Zest WEG Group has added an integrated-solutions offering to its products-oriented sales strategy in a bid to penetrate market segments in which there is a growing appetite for all-encompassing solutions. The South African company is the fifth largest branch... →

Zest WEG Group CEO Siegfried Kreutzfeld in conversation with Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer on the group's growth strategy. Camera Work & Editing: Darlene Creamer.

New statistics point to renewables playing a role in load-shedding mitigation

By: Terence Creamer 11th February 2019 Newly released statistics on the performance of South Africa’s small, but expanding, renewable-energy fleet point to a positive contribution from the country’s wind and solar plants during those hours towards the end of 2018 when Eskom resorted to load-shedding. Compiled by the Council for... →

CSIR Energy Centre principal engineer Jarrad Wright

Africa, Middle East increase onshore wind power capacity to 5.7 GW

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th February 2019 The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) on Monday released data that found Africa and the Middle East had installed 962 MW of onshore wind power capacity in 2018 – a 300 MW increase compared with 2017. The GWEC’s global wind report forecasts that a further 6.5 GW of capacity will be added by... →

DBSA wins global award for renewable energy project financing

By: Simone Liedtke 8th February 2019 The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has won the African Renewable Energy Programme Award. The award was presented to the DBSA, in London, in the UK, by Project Finance International (PFI), an institution that organises the global awards. →

Working together can deliver mining’s massive benefits – Friedland

By: Martin Creamer 6th February 2019 Mining can and will deliver massive benefits if all stakeholders work together, Ivanhoe Mines executive co-chairperson and founder Robert Friedland said on Wednesday Speaking on the third day of the Investing in African Mining Indaba, he outlined the huge potential of collaborative government,... →

Ivanhoe Mines executive co-chairperson and founder Robert Friedland speaks about the winds of change blowing in South Africa and the DRC and the benefits mining companies, African governments and communities can reap if all parties work together. Video and editing: Nicholas Boyd.

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