In a project that the World Bank hopes will be a catalyst for implementing its climate change strategy in low and middle-income countries, Eskom, South Africa’s 100% state-owned electricity utility, will launch a tender for a 1.4 gigawatt-hours battery energy storage system (“BESS”). The tender will likely be issued in the first or second quarter […]
South Africa plans sweeping power sector reform as Eskom struggles
Government hopes split will increase efficiency PRETORIA : South Africa plans a sweeping overhaul of its power sector by breaking up loss-making state utility Eskom over the next three years and opening the industry up to more competition, a long-awaited government paper showed on Tuesday. Analysts welcomed the move but were sceptical that officials would […]
South Africa’s Eskom challenges latest power tariff decision in court
State-owned Eskom, which produces more than 90% of the country’s electricity, implemented some of most severe power cuts in several years this year and is reliant on government bailouts to survive JOHANNESBURG : South Africa’s struggling power utility Eskom said on Friday it was challenging in court the regulator’s latest tariff decision, a move it […]
Online marketplace Sun Exchange powers solar projects in South Africa
London (CNN Business)Imagine living in drizzly London or icy Montreal but making money from the sun shining in Cape Town. That’s the premise behind Sun Exchange. It sells solar cells (the parts which make up a solar panel) to online buyers around the world and leases them to schools and businesses in South Africa. The […]
SOUTH AFRICA: Eskom launches major tender for electricity storage
South African state-owned company Eskom is to initiate a call for tenders for a large-scale battery-powered electricity storage project. It will be implemented in two phases with an expected capacity of 1.4 GWh. South Africa is about to launch one of the largest electricity storage projects in the world. This involves the installation of batteries […]
$11 Billion Green-Energy Initiative Takes Shape in South Africa
A plan to establish the world’s largest green-energy financing initiative is being threshed out in South Africa, which needs to reduce its environmental footprint and find innovative ways to fund debt-stricken state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. The plan being formulated by Meridian Economics, a Cape Town-based think tank, is under consideration by the […]
Climate change: India pitches for financial support
In the run-up to two key UN summits on Climate Change, India has raised the pitch for finance and technology support to developing nations to achieve the Paris Agreement goals of keeping a global average temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius. Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said […]
Africa’s Wind Project Pipeline Grows to 18GW
There is growing momentum behind the development of long-term incentive mechanisms to support African wind markets. The wind industry has been slow to take off in Africa. Developers commissioned projects in only four African markets in 2018. However, the policy inconsistency that has held the market back in previous years is beginning to change. The […]
Senegal imports tribunes for first wind farm project, aims to become leader in renewables
Senegal started importing turbines for its first large-scale wind farm on Thursday, the biggest such project in West Africa that will supply nearly a sixth of the country’s power. Privately-owned British renewable power company Lekela expects the wind farm, located in Taiba Ndiaye, about 100 km from the capital Dakar, to reach 158.7 megawatts (MW) […]
How important are climate issues in South African elections
When climate adaptation is not the mainstream political agenda, driving the South Africa’s National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy will be a challenge Southern Africa is on the frontline of rising global temperature. Even as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) called upon the world to restrict the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, […]