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Renewable Energy News

Gordhan says he will ‘interfere’ if Eskom jobs are threatened

By: Terence Creamer 20th November 2019 Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has refuted suggestions that government is interfering with the work of boards and executives at State-owned companies, such as Eskom, but has also indicated that he will not stand by should decisions be made that lead to significant job losses. In... →

Gold Fields marks milestones as its Agnew renewables plant starts operating

By: Marleny Arnoldi 20th November 2019 The 23 MW renewable energy power station built at JSE-listed Gold Fields’ Agnew mine, in Australia, has started operating. Global distributed energy producer EDL installed the power station that integrates 4 MW photovoltaic solar power with 19 MW of gas and diesel generation to power the gold... →

Gold Fields' hybrid renewable energy project at Agnew mine, in Australia

Meeco Group completes rope-structured solar PV plant in Kenya

By: Marleny Arnoldi 18th November 2019 Swiss clean energy provider Meeco Group has completed the installation of its first photovoltaic (PV) solar project using an innovative solar power mounting structure called the sun2rope. This environment-friendly system comprises PV modules that are mounted on tailor-made rope structures,... →

Fuel for rockets, Zeppelins points toward green heat solution

By: Bloomberg 18th November 2019 It’s the most nettlesome problem in the quest to ditch fossil fuels: how can you get thousand-degree heat used in factory furnaces without pumping billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere? Heat-intensive processes like steelmaking and oil refineries are the starting point for... →

The Enel Fusina hydrogen plant near Venice, Italy.

SAWEA appoints three new board members

By: Marleny Arnoldi 13th November 2019 The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) on Wednesday announced the appointment of three new members – Mark Tanton, Dhesen Moodley and Toni Beukes – to its board of governance. The existing members are Tobias Niemz, Katherine Persson, CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli and Mercia Grimbeek. →

Forum expected to drive investment to improve regional integration in Africa

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th November 2019 This year's Africa Investment Forum (AIF) is focused on regional integration and accelerating investment accordingly, says African Development Bank (AfDB) president Akinwumi Adesina. Speaking on the first day of the forum, which is being held in Sandton, he noted that a lack of infrastructure,... →

Angola may seek almost half the power from a $14bn Congo hydro plant

By: Bloomberg 11th November 2019 Angola may buy as much as 5 000 MW from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo’s proposed $14-billion hydropower plant. In its current design, the Inga III dam would be the biggest hydropower plant in Africa, generating 11 050 MW. The two partners developing the project – one Chinese, one... →

OptiPower making progress on EC wind farm project, welcomes benefits of M&R buyout

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 8th November 2019 Transmission and distribution services provider OptiPower Projects, which was recently acquired by Murray & Roberts (M&R), is progressing with its work on the Golden Valley Wind Farm, in the Eastern Cape. The 120 MW Golden Valley project is a BioTherm Energy development, comprising 48 2.5 MW... →

Serco invests in renewable energy for its Durban factory

By: Marleny Arnoldi 8th November 2019 Truck body manufacturer Serco Industries has invested R5-million in a solar rooftop plant for its Durban factory. A total 1 029 solar panels have been installed on the roof of the truck and trailer building factory, allowing the premises to be off the grid during the day. →

Serco's factory in Durban with solar panels

Mobilisation of private finance key to closing Africa’s $2.6tr energy gap

By: Terence Creamer 8th November 2019 State budgets and development finance will not be sufficient to fund the investments required to meet Africa’s growing power demands to 2040, a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report warns. Titled ‘Africa Energy Outlook 2019’, the report states that cumulative investments of $2.6-trillion,... →

GRI geared to meet additional wind capacity demands

By: Marleny Arnoldi 8th November 2019 The South African Wind Energy Association says South Africa will need to produce about 640 wind turbines a year up to 2029 to meet the energy goals outlined in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019. Fortunately, the capacity already exists in the country to produce 150 steel wind towers and... →

Manufacturer targets product releases, skills development

By: Cameron Mackay 8th November 2019 Solar energy equipment supplier Microcare plans to share its local story of innovation, job creation and skills development next year during its thirtieth year of manufacturing in South Africa and aims to celebrate with product releases and support for even higher standards of solar equipment... →

OFF THE GRID Microcare plans to share its local story of innovation, job creation and skills development next year during its 30th year of manufacturing in South Africa

SA’s sun, wind resources enough to meet the country’s needs

By: Schalk Burger 8th November 2019 Solar and wind resources can be used as bountiful energy sources for development, similar to how abundant coal resources in the late nineteenth- and throughout the twentieth- century powered industries and fuelled development, says energy solutions provider Energy Partners Solar CEO Manie de... →

Green cement? Captured carbon may fuel new markets and help climate

By: Reuters 7th November 2019 Capturing planet-warming carbon dioxide and turning it into useful products, from plastics to jet fuel, could make climate action cheaper and become a good business - but market obstacles need to be overcome first, researchers said on Thursday. Companies are already turning carbon dioxide... →

Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan to try to resolve dam dispute by January 15

By: Reuters 7th November 2019 The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed on Wednesday to work toward resolving their dispute over the filling and operation of a massive dam project in Ethiopia by Jan. 15, 2020, the US Treasury said. In a joint statement released after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hosted... →

Science, innovation investment crucial to Africa’s development

By: Mamaili Mamaila 7th November 2019 Africa still does not realise the potential and opportunity that science and innovation hold for its development and the time has come for the continent to be serious about investing more in research, development and innovation, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor said... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor

Power Africa delivers access to power for 70m people

By: Marleny Arnoldi 7th November 2019 Multi-stakeholder power initiative Power Africa has so far enabled access to electricity for nearly 70-million people in sub-Saharan Africa through 14.8-million home and business connections. As of July, 56 of Power Africa’s 124 financially closed projects were commissioned, delivering 3 486 MW... →

Steady progress being made to make South Africa a ‘competitive investment destination’

By: Terence Creamer 6th November 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined the “steady, but sure” progress being made to make South Africa a “more competitive investment destination” as he sought to consolidate an investment push designed to attract $100-billion (R1.2-trillion in 2018 exchange rates terms) of fixed investment over the... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined the “steady, but sure” progress being made to make South Africa a “more competitive investment destination” as he sought to consolidate an investment push designed to attract $100-billion (R1.2-trillion in 2018 exchange rates terms) of fixed investment over the five-year period to 2023. Video and editing: Darlene Creamer 6.11.2019

Enel Green Power starts construction on Karusa, Soetwater wind farms

By: Simone Liedtke 5th November 2019 Natural gas distribution company Enel, through its renewable energy subsidiary Enel Green Power, has started construction on its Karusa and Soetwater wind farms, in the Northern Cape. The plants, each with an installed capacity of 140 MW, are expected to be completed by the end of 2021 at a cost... →

World Energy Council appoints new CEO

By: Marleny Arnoldi 4th November 2019 The World Energy Council (WEC) has appointed Dr Angela Wilkinson to succeed Dr Christoph Frei as CEO, effective November 1. The council stated on Monday that Wilkinson previously served as the WEC’s scenarios and business insights senior director, while being a leading global energy expert. →

World Bank ready to spend $5bn in Congo, with conditions

By: Bloomberg 4th November 2019 The World Bank could provide as much as $5-billion to Democratic Republic of Congo over the next five years if its new government commits to raising more revenue, fighting corruption and opening up its economy. The financing would be a welcome boost for Congo’s new President, Felix Tshisekedi,... →

Bushveld supports Avalon, redT merger

By: Simone Liedtke 1st November 2019 Integrated primary vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals has agreed to support the merger of vanadium redox flow battery manufacturer Avalon Battery Corporation and redT energy with interim funding of $5-million. The interim funding will give Bushveld an opportunity to acquire a strategic interest... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Bushveld Minerals CEO Fortune Mojapelo

Congo says $14bn Inga dam on track despite disagreements

By: Bloomberg 1st November 2019 The Democratic Republic of Congo remains committed to building a $14-billion dam on the Congo River, even as the project is bogged down in disagreements between its developers, according to the government agency overseeing the project. Congo envisages an 11 050 MW facility that can export 5 000... →

Tourism, energy at risk as Africa's largest waterfall runs low

By: Bloomberg 1st November 2019 The flow at the Africa’s biggest waterfall is at its lowest since 1995, highlighting the threat posed by a drought to tourism and electricity generation in Zimbabwe and Zambia. Flow has slumped to 109 m3/s at Victoria Falls, a 1.7 km curtain of falling water at the peak of a normal wet season,... →

Photo by Bloomberg
The Victoria Falls before the drought

Aceleron repurposes battery packs to power Kenyan communities

By: Marleny Arnoldi 31st October 2019 UK-based battery solutions developer Aceleron and Total Access to Energy Solutions (Tates) have partnered to expand clean energy accessibility and tackle unsustainable battery waste in Kenya by repurposing old battery packs. Aceleron will convert Tates and its partners’ waste lithium-ion... →

Egypt says Washington to host Nov 6 meeting on Ethiopia dam dispute

By: Reuters 30th October 2019 The Trump administration has invited Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia to a meeting in Washington on Nov. 6 to try to break the deadlock in negotiations over a giant hydropower dam on Ethiopia's Blue Nile, Egypt's foreign minister said on Tuesday. Earlier this month, Cairo said it accepted a US... →

Globeleq appoints new CEO

By: Marleny Arnoldi 29th October 2019 Africa-focused independent power producer Globeleq has appointed current COO and CFO Mike Scholey as its new CEO, effective January 1. He will succeed Paul Hanrahan. →

Eskom stations to be clustered into ‘competing’ units, as timeframe is set for transmission separation

By: Terence Creamer 29th October 2019 The South African government has opted for an evolutionary approach to the restructuring of Eskom, the details of which are provided in a ‘special paper’ released by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan on Tuesday. Titled a ‘Roadmap for Eskom in a Reformed Electricity Supply Industry’, the... →

Photo by Bloomberg
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan

ACWA Power enters the Ethiopian renewables sector

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 28th October 2019 The Public Private Partnership Directorate General (PPP-DG) of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance has awarded international developer and operator of power generation and water desalination projects ACWA Power two 125 MW solar photovoltaic projects. ACWA Power won the bid for the plants during the... →

Renewable energy sector preparing ‘just transition’ roadmap

By: Simone Liedtke 28th October 2019 South Africa’s renewable energy sector has revealed that it is preparing a “just transition” roadmap that seeks to speed up and assist the mobilisation of wind and solar energy in regions where gold and coal mining are on the decline. By incorporating employment and industrialisation in the... →

Congo’s $14bn dam project threatened by disagreements

By: Bloomberg 28th October 2019 Serious disagreements between groups of Spanish and Chinese developers that want to build a 11 000 MW hydropower plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may scuttle plans for the $14-billion project, according to a report. The Inga III dam would be the biggest hydroelectric power station... →

SAIEE to host inaugural conference in November

By: Marleny Arnoldi 25th October 2019 The South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) will host its inaugural National Conference, in Johannesburg, from November 27 to 29. The conference will discuss how South Africa can “Engineer an Africa for the Future” by bringing together local and international thought leaders to... →

Metals sector in costly battle to turn green

By: Reuters 25th October 2019 Metals producers, from miners to smelters, are grappling with increasingly tough and costly environmental demands imposed by banks seeking cleaner investments. While the transition may prove overwhelming for smaller producers, larger companies are playing a long game, casting ahead to a period... →

Three power plants financed by AfDB boost Cameroon's power supply

By: African News Agency 25th October 2019 Three projects financed by the African Development Bank for $121.4-million in 2010/11 are starting to provide Cameroon with more reliable electricity supply, the institution has said. With an estimated 23 000 MW hydroelectric production capacity, Cameroon has the second-largest hydroelectric... →

Zimbabwe to cut power to mines, others over $77m in unpaid bills

By: Reuters 24th October 2019 Zimbabwe's State-owned electricity distributor, grappling with drought and ageing equipment, said on Thursday it will disconnect mines, farms and other users as it looks to recover $77-million in unpaid bills. The Southern African nation is experiencing daily power cuts lasting up to 18 hours... →

IRP 2019 broadly welcomed

24th October 2019 Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the country’s general acceptance of the IRP 2019, the short-term gap in electricity supply that needs to be filled and what the next steps will be for implementing the plan. →

IRP 2019 broadly welcomed

Ethiopia probes alleged dam misspending that slowed construction

By: Bloomberg 23rd October 2019 Ethiopian authorities are probing missing funds a military contractor already accused of graft was meant to spend on a showpiece dam on a Nile tributary that’s raised tensions with Egypt. Military-linked Metals & Engineering Corp, which was replaced as a contractor on the Grand Ethiopian... →

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