Government has selected 25 preferred bidders in its latest effort to beef up renewable electricity supply as the country grapples with power shortages.
Browsing: Gwede Mantashe
Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan has tried to assure South Africans that the elections on 1 November will not be disrupted by a lack of power.
The world’s richest countries are courting South Africa as a model of how to transition to a more climate-friendly future from a dependency on coal. It’s a pity about the politics, then.
Rich nations shouldn’t force South Africa to ban new coal-power projects, energy minister Gwede Mantashe said.
Envoys from some of the world’s richest nations have met with South African cabinet ministers to discuss a climate deal that could see billions of dollars flowing in the country.
Energy regulator Nersa has kicked a hard discussion about a licence for the controversial electricity generator down the road.
South Africa faces “another era of isolation” if it persists with coal power generation, the CEO of Eskom said, arguing a pivot to cleaner energy would boost the competitiveness of the country’s exports.
Eskom, which supplies almost all South Africa’s electricity from coal-fired power plants, is considering spending R106-billion on wind and solar energy by 2030.
Government on Thursday published changes to the Electricity Regulation Act, making it official that power producers of up to 100MW will not require a licence from energy regulator Nersa to operate.
There are widespread doubts that renewable energy projects can happen fast enough to replace coal. So a controversial fossil fuel remains part of the planned energy mix: natural gas.