Weekly projects and energy updates in South Africa
City of Cape Town launches waste-to-energy plant
South Africa’s City of Cape Town is now generating its own electricity through a waste-to-energy plant.
While launching the ZAR400 million (US$30 million) plant in Athlone on Wednesday, Mayor Patricia de Lille said she felt it was wrong that the national power supplier, Eskom, had a monopoly and forced the city to purchase its fossil-fuel power.
News24 reported that the city seeks to provide its citizens with a greater choice on what type of energy they want to consume, and is also aiming to have 20% renewable energy as part of its energy mix.
ESI Africa, 27 January 2017
Cape Town draws battle lines over right to buy alternative energy from IPPs
The City of Cape Town plans to take Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson to court for the right to buy power directly from alternative energy suppliers, instead of Eskom.
The city wanted to get 20% of its energy from renewable resources by 2020, but needed the minister to sign off on an application to get independent power producers (IPP), Mayor Patricia de Lille said at the unveiling of a waste-to-energy enterprise in Athlone on Wednesday.
She said there were many IPPs the city could buy its energy from directly, but only Joemat-Pettersson could give the go-ahead. She in turn had to consult the National Energy Regulator of South Africa before giving the go-ahead.
Engineering News, 27 January 2017
Ongoing solar projects promote IPP success
Global private engineering and technology company Sener and its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partners, Emvelo and Cobra, are scheduled to complete the EPC of the 100 MW Ilanga solar thermal power plant near Upington in the Northern Cape, at the end of 2018.
The company believes that the estimated ZAR194 billion that has already been invested as a result of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), which is expected to increase to over ZAR255 billion on financial close of projects in Bid Windows 4 and 4.5, is evidence that the REIPPPP has been quite successful.
Sener has already made a significant contribution to the REIPPPP through the 50 MW Bokpoort concentrated solar power plant, located near Groblershoop, in the Northern Cape, which was completed in 2016. The Bokpoort project, which was recently awarded the 2016 Best Renewable Energy Project award by the South African Energy Association, set an African record for continuously supplying electricity for 24 hours a day. Owing to this, it is considered a pioneer in South Africa’s renewable-energy sector in addition to its contribution to socioeconomic development.
Engineering News, 27 January 2017
France’s EDF declares intention to respond to Eskom’s nuclear RFI
The French nuclear industry, led by electricity utility EDF, formally declared its intention on Wednesday to submit a response to the Nuclear New Build Programme request for information (RFI), which was released by South Africa’s Eskom on 20 December.
The announcement by EDF followed reports that Russian nuclear vendor Rosatom also intended responding to the RFI, along with denials by Rosatom that it had already submitted a bid to build new reactors in South Africa.
EDF said its response would also deal with the nuclear fuel cycle and the commercial production reactor, which could be procured by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, or NECSA.
Engineering News, 25 January 2017
Brown says ministers to meet in mid-Feb to seek “answer” to Eskom-IPP deadlock
Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown says a meeting, involving herself, the Ministers of Energy and Finance, as well as Eskom, should take place by mid-February to seek an “answer” to the current standoff over the signing, by Eskom, of 37 outstanding power purchase agreements (PPAs) with renewables independent power producers (IPPs).
In an address at Eskom’s quarterly “state of the system” briefing in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Brown argued that the addition of more capacity at a time of excess capacity would result in additional costs to the company and increase electricity tariffs. “In my opinion, the Eskom board would fail in its duty if it did not consider the burden of high costs on consumers.”
However, she insisted in response to a question posed by Engineering News Online that she would not stand in the way of the signing of the contracts “if Eskom feels that they are ready”.
Engineering News, 24 January 2017
Lynne Brown throws weight behind Eskom’s coal procurement policy
Eskom will continue to “radically but fairly” transform coal procurement because this is a non-negotiable national imperative, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown said on Tuesday.
Eskom is currently embroiled in a bitter disagreement with one of its suppliers, Exxaro, over the diversified resources group’s black economic empowerment (BEE) policy.
Engineering News, 24 January 2017
Ground-breaking waste-to-energy plant opens in Cape Town
The first large-scale waste-to-energy plant in Africa will be opened in Athlone in Cape Town, on Wednesday, with the aim of converting municipal solid waste into energy.
The state-of-the-art ZAR400 million biogas plant is expected to create 80 full-time jobs and few hundred indirect jobs. The plant is owned by New Horizons Energy, a subsidiary of Clean Energy Africa. An innovative partnership with waste management company Waste Mart has been a boost and the culmination of five years of planning.
Waste Mart will deliver over 500 t/d of organic household, municipal and industrial waste to the plant. This will be converted into renewable, clean energy. New Horizons has set itself a goal of achieving zero waste to landfill, ensuring that all usable waste brought into the plant is developed into environmentally sensitive, high quality products.
Engineering News, 24 January 2017
The above reflects a summary of certain news articles published during the preceding week.
