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Renewable Energy News

Zambia targets 200 MW of solar power to reduce hydro dependency

By: Reuters 28th November 2018 Zambia is seeking proposals from potential developers of solar power projects with a combined 200 MW capacity as it tries to diversify its energy mix away from hydroelectric power. Energy Minister Matthew Nkhuwa said in a statement at an investment conference on Tuesday that the 200 MW would be... →

Eurasian Resources Group secures electricity supply for DRC copper mine

By: Creamer Media Reporter 27th November 2018 Diversified natural resources group Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has concluded an agreement with electricity company Société Nationale d’Électricité (SNEL) for the supply of 41 MW of electricity for its Frontier mine, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). SNEL will source the... →

Resolute procures 40 MW solar hybrid power plant for Syama

By: Creamer Media Reporter 26th November 2018 ASX-listed Resolute Mining has signed a joint development agreement with power project financier, developer and operator Ignite Energy Projects for the development of a 40 MW independent solar hybrid power plant at its Syama gold mine, in Mali. The power plant, which will be operational by the... →

100 MW Kathu CSP to enter commercial operation in early 2019

By: Creamer Media Reporter 26th November 2018 The 100 MW Kathu Solar Park concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, in the Northern Cape, has been synchronised to the national grid and the power station is expected to enter into full commercial operation in early 2019. Construction of the parabolic-trough CSP plant began in May 2016, following... →

The 100 MW Kathu Solar Park

Study under way to help shape policy needed to transition from coal-based to renewable energy systems

By: Simone Liedtke 21st November 2018 As more renewable energy capacity is added globally, thermal coal-fired power stations are likely to, in future, operate only for short periods of time to balance the shortfall in electricity when renewable capacity is not available, University of Johannesburg professor Bilainu Oboirien said at... →

Photo by Dylan Slater
University of Johannesburg professor Bilainu Oboirien

Big plans afoot for training more young people in renewable energy

By: Kim Cloete 20th November 2018 The South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (Saretec), which provides training for wind turbine service technicians and which has recently expanded into training solar photovoltaic (PV) installers, has been officially launched in Cape Town. The sophisticated and state-of-the-art training... →

South Africa’s coal output continues to decline

By: Simone Liedtke 20th November 2018 XMP Consulting senior coal analyst Xavier Prevost expects South Africa’s coal production to soon “drop drastically” as a result of low investment in new coal mining capacity and older mines reaching the end of their lives. Speaking to Mining Weekly Online on the sidelines of the Fossil Fuel... →

XMP Consultants senior coal analyst Xavier Prevost speaks to Mining Weekly Online on the sidelines of the Clean Coal Technologies conference about the current and future trends in coal production, trade and markets in South Africa. Video & Editing: Nicholas Boyd.

The battery boom to attract $620bn in investment by 2040

By: Bloomberg 19th November 2018 The battery boom is coming to China, California and basically everywhere else – and it will be even bigger than previously thought. The global energy-storage market will surge to a cumulative 942 GW by 2040, according to a new forecast from Bloomberg NEF published on November 13, and that growth... →

Upcoming protest not the first amid talks of transition away from coal – SAWEA

By: Simone Liedtke 16th November 2018 The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has defended the industry’s job creation potential. This comes ahead of a peaceful march by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which is planned for November 17, to protest potential job losses in the coal-fired power generation sector as a... →

Policy support needed for development of sustainable alternative energy sources – SAEEC

By: Marleny Arnoldi 14th November 2018 Although natural gas is about 60% cleaner than coal in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, it currently contributes only 1.5% of the country’s total primary energy needs. Even through the National Development Plan (NDP) aims to delink economic development from environmental decay and... →

Vanadium batteries the solution to meet growing energy storage demand – Bushveld

By: Simone Liedtke 14th November 2018 Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) are a front-runner technology for meeting the growing demand in the energy storage sector, says Bushveld Energy CEO Mikhail Nikomarov. During a webinar on energy storage this week, he noted that data by US-based multiservice professional firm Navigant shows... →

SA needs to consider oil underinvestment, variable renewables implications

14th November 2018 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the possible implications for South Africa of a global underinvestment in oil production, as well as the growing need to introduce flexibility in power markets. →

SA needs to consider oil underinvestment, variable renewables implications, says Terence Creamer

Flexibility to take on ‘unprecedented importance’ as renewables rise

By: Terence Creamer 13th November 2018 The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that higher shares of variable renewable energy in electricity systems will require a “step change” in the requirement for flexibility, which is the capability to balance electricity supply and demand at all times so as to keep the lights burning. The... →

Electrifying the world no panacea for global warming, IEA says

By: Bloomberg 13th November 2018 Driving electric cars and scrapping your natural gas-fired boiler won’t make a dent in global carbon emissions, and may even increase pollution levels. Higher electrification may lead to oil demand peaking by 2030, but any reduction in emissions from the likes of electric vehicles will be offset... →

Wind energy OEMs call to boost procurement gap; promise to boost localisation

By: Kim Cloete 9th November 2018 Major manufacturers and suppliers of wind energy turbines and equipment to South Africa are relieved that the wind industry is on a roll again, but have called on the government to close the procurement gap in the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The current draft IRP has a gap in the years... →

Lazard says ‘inflection point’ reached making new renewables cheaper than existing coal

By: Terence Creamer 9th November 2018 A new US study comparing the costs of energy from various generation technologies indicates that an “inflection point” has been reached where, in some cases, it is more cost effective to build and operate new renewable-energy projects than to maintain existing conventional generation plants. The... →

Nordex to install more turbines at four South African wind farms

By: Kim Cloete 9th November 2018 Wind turbine designer and manufacturer Nordex will double the number of local employees and install another 174 wind turbines on four wind farm sites in South Africa. Nordex South Africa MD Anne Henschel said the investment followed the signing of Round 4 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power... →

Wind energy industry commits to investing in South Africa

By: Kim Cloete 9th November 2018 South Africa’s wind energy industry has adopted a charter, which commits to long-term investment in the development of the country. A commitment statement drafted by members of the industry was adopted at an annual general meeting of the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) in Cape Town.... →

Wind energy set to play important role in diversifying the energy mix

By: Kim Cloete 8th November 2018 Energy Minister Jeff Radebe says wind power can play a pivotal role in driving South Africa’s transition to a low-carbon economy. Its competitive prices are also a drawcard and should be capitalised on. →

Wartsila wins contract to build two Kenyan solar-power farms

By: Bloomberg 8th November 2018 Wartsila Oyj’s East African unit won two engineering, procurement and construction contracts to develop grid-connected solar farms in Kenya, each with a capacity of 40 megawatts. Construction is expected to begin next year, according to George Oywer, a business development manager at Wartsila... →

Africa poised to be global renewable-energy leader – AfDB president

By: Terence Creamer 8th November 2018 African Development Bank (AfDB) president Dr Akinwumi Adesina says Africa is poised to become the leading region for renewable-energy globally and has reaffirmed the bank’s support for the ambitious ‘Desert to Power’ programme in the Sahel region. Speaking in Johannesburg at the inaugural Africa... →

Photo by Reuters
AfDB president Dr Akinwumi Adesina

Global body forecasts continued growth in wind energy generation capacity

By: Kim Cloete 8th November 2018 China, the US, Germany, India and Spain are the top five markets for wind energy in the world, with 19.6 GW of installed capacity in 2017, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). GWEC senior policy adviser Steve Sawyer said the figure was slightly down on the previous year, but was... →

Massmart top renewable energy user in South African retail

By: Marleny Arnoldi 8th November 2018 JSE-listed consumer goods distributor Massmart Holdings has become the biggest producer of renewable energy in the South African retail sector, with a total 4.4-million kilowatt-hours generated from solar photovoltaic panels on the rooftops of six stores nationally. Massmart corporate affairs... →

Prices for renewable energy likely to drop further, suggests energy expert

By: Kim Cloete 7th November 2018 Prices for renewable energy are likely to continue to drop, while the next utility-scale renewable energy procurements will probably come sooner rather than later, suggests energy expert, Professor Anton Eberhard. “I have no doubt that we will see prices coming down further,” Eberhard told... →

Wind energy powers up in South Africa

By: Kim Cloete 7th November 2018 After two years of uncertainty, the wind energy industry is pumping again, with R50-billion of investment realised this year, says South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) chairperson Tebogo Movundlela. He told delegates at the opening of the 2018 Windaba, in Cape Town, on Wednesday, that... →

Radebe hints at possible Saudi investment to boost South Africa's oil refining capacity

By: Kim Cloete 7th November 2018 Energy Minister Jeff Radebe has called for a collaborative approach to attract investment in oil refining hubs throughout the continent and has hinted that Saudi Arabian investment in refining capacity in South Africa may soon become a reality. “In South Africa we believe the time has come for an... →

Oil, gas outlook positive amid tough conditions, says PwC review

By: Kim Cloete 7th November 2018 The outlook for Africa’s oil and gas industry is positive, despite tough economic conditions and far fewer discoveries over the past year, PwC’s yearly 'Africa Oil & Gas Review' shows. The review indicates how the industry has responded in the wake of the recovery of the oil price to close to... →

New oil, gas opportunities emerge in Sudan, Niger

By: Kim Cloete 7th November 2018 Some countries in Africa are emerging as potentially exciting players in the oil and gas space – from Sudan, which has emerged out of the clutches of civil war, to Niger, which is rising up as a new producer of petroleum products. Sudanese Petroleum and Gas Minister Azhari Abdalla Abdelgader on... →

South Africa joins the IEA as an association country

By: Kim Cloete 6th November 2018 South Africa has joined the International Energy Agency (IEA) as an association country in a move it believes will bring it closer to the cutting-edge of technology and global energy governance. It is the first country in Africa to be afforded this status. →

IEA executive director Dr Fatih Birol and Energy Minsiter Jeff Radebe

Renergen to list on ASX, continue expansion work on Virginia gas project

By: Simone Liedtke 6th November 2018 JSE-listed integrated alternative energy business Renergen plans to undertake a dual listing on the ASX on completion of a fully underwritten R125-million rights issue to shareholders. Commenting on the proposed upcoming ASX listing, which is scheduled for early 2019, depending on market... →

Renergen CEO Stefano Marani

South African wind farm yield forecasts in line with global norms – study

By: Terence Creamer 5th November 2018 South African wind farm yield predictions, which represent key inputs for the calculation of a project’s revenue and for the valuation of a potential investment, are as accurate as those from other established wind markets in Europe and North America, a new study shows. Conducted by Lloyd’s... →

Eskom launches microgrid pilot plant in Free State

By: Marleny Arnoldi 5th November 2018 State-owned power utility Eskom has launched a pilot solar-powered microgrid at Wilhelmina farm, in Fickburg, in the Free State. The microgrid demo plant is capable of providing electricity to 14 households with 81 family members, making up the Wilhelmina community. →

New dawn, and possible expansion, for trailblazing wind farm

By: Terence Creamer 5th November 2018 Independent energy company ENERTRAG South Africa, which acquired the iconic 5.2 MW Darling wind farm in mid-October, has confirmed that it intends studying the feasibility of expanding the Western Cape facility. The wind farm was South Africa’s first-ever renewable-energy independent power... →

The 5.2 MW Darling wind farm

Zambia power system glitch cuts electricity supply to some mines

By: Reuters 2nd November 2018 Power supply to some mines in Africa's second-biggest copper producer was cut due to a technical fault, Zambian state power firm Zesco said on Friday. "We had a system disturbance which led to loss of power on the Copperbelt, including the mines," the utility's spokesman Henry Kapata said. →

Egypt signs $2.3bn power plant deal with Saudi ACWA Power – Minister

By: Reuters 2nd November 2018 Egypt signed a deal with Saudi Arabian utility developer ACWA Power on Thursday to build a $2.3-billion power plant in the country's south, the Egyptian electricity minister said. The plant, which will have a capacity of 2 250 MW, will be built in Luxor province, the minister, Mohamed Shaker,... →

Small thermal plants hold promise for regions without grid electricity

By: Nadine James 2nd November 2018 Small-scale power generation plants driven by hydrocarbon sources and biomass are still likely to play a valuable part in rolling out electricity in regions of Africa unserved by grid power and where renewable resources are insufficient to sustain a reliable energy supply, according to SRK... →

Digitisation set to shake up the energy sector

By: Kim Cloete 1st November 2018 Energy experts believe there are great opportunities to save money and boost efficiency with a move towards more digitisation in the energy sector. They are preparing for a shake-up, spurred on by a move away from conventional generation systems, a surge in renewable energy and the introduction... →

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