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The Minerals Council South Africa wants the registration threshold for embedded generation to increase from 10 MW to 50 MW.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe previously said the market is not ready for 50 MW.
The council asserts that a cap of 50 MW will provide more than 5 000 MW of much needed energy capacity, while also protecting and creating jobs.
Contrary to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe s statements that there is overwhelming support for the licence threshold for embedded generation to be lifted to 10 MW, the Minerals Council of South Africa wants the threshold to be raised to 50 MW.
BioTherm Energy has announced the completion of all four of its renewable energy projects in South Africa, with the latest project having come on stream in the Eastern Cape. The company s R6.5bn investment, connects 284MW into South Africa s national grid and is partnered by Thebe Investment Corporation (TIC), which has a 37.5% stake in all four projects.
The 123MW Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility has reached commercial operations and is expected to generate over 477GWh of renewable power each year, equivalent to the energy needs of approximately 120 000 households. It joins 33MW Excelsior Wind Energy Facility, in the Western Cape; and two solar PV projects in the Northern Cape, namely 46MW Aggeneys Solar and its sister plant 86MW Konkoonsies II Solar, all of which form part of the government s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme s fourth bid round. For further information see the IDTechEx report on Self-Powering Smart Cities 2018-2028.
BioTherm Energy announced the completion of all four of its renewable energy projects in South Africa, with the latest project having come on stream in the Eastern Cape.
South Africa is once more experiencing periodic power cuts. These typically take the form of scheduled supply interruptions, for two to four hours a day, whenever the country’s electricity system is overloaded. Such overloading currently happens on 40-50 days a year.
Eskom, the country’s power utility, recently admitted that such interruptions are likely to persist for as long as the next five years. This is because of the increased down-time of the rapidly ageing fleet of coal plants. But it is also due to delays in setting up new power plants.
The decreasing performance of the existing Eskom plants is evident in the steady decline of the energy availability factor. This is a measure of the percentage of total electricity generated compared to what would be achieved when every plant was functioning. The energy availability factor is currently at about 65%. This means that on average 35% of Eskom’s power plants are standing idle at any particular time due to faults or main
A solution for Africa’s energy short-term supply? Energy poverty represents one of the most critical challenges for development in Africa. According to the International Energy Agency, in 2019, the continent had more than 580 million people without electricity access, with that number expected to grow to 660 million people by 2030.
Energy poverty is catastrophic not only on a macroeconomic level, but it also profoundly impacts people’s daily lives, as without energy, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and other essential services cannot be developed. Imagine a hospital losing power in the middle of a pandemic? It could cost lives. However, the South African government is currently implementing an excellent short-term option in a solid attempt to address this problem.