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Sasol and the Northern Cape’s development body are expected to complete prefeasibility work on a 5GW green hydrogen plant in September, with a full feasibility study to begin soon afterwards.

South Africa’s $8.5bn Just Energy Transition Partnership is starting to take shape, with Eskom committing to decommission more than 20GW of coal by 2035 and promising more than $6.3bn to be invested in transmission upgrades. But there are also concerns about the direction of travel as the government separately considers adding new coal and gas capacity.

South Africa’s transmission shortfalls are having ramifications across the value chain. Sola Group chief executive Dominic Wills told African Energy that access to limited substation space was becoming problematic across South Africa, not just in the Northern Cape.

European Union Delegation to South Africa head of co-operation Bernard Rey told the recent Enlit Africa event in Cape Town that the EU was heavily committed to supporting the energy transition in Africa, while recognising the need for flexibility.

BTE Renewables has taken over the ownership of the Mulilo Sonnedix Prieska PV plant in the Northern Cape, after buying Sonnedix Africa’s 60% interest in the project.

Australian gas explorer Kinetiko Energy said it had encountered significant gas formations at all three Korhaan project wells in the northern Karoo Basin of South Africa. In the near future, the company plans to enter a pilot production phase  – using existing wells at Brakfontein – with gas-to-power partners Vutomi Energy.

It may be a major player around the continent, but Italian major Eni has confirmed it has ended its involvement in South Africa’s upstream sector, following the transfer of its entire participating interest in the Exploration Right permit 236 (ER236) to its partner Sasol.

The oil and gas industry and local environmental campaigners are awaiting a ruling from the Gqeberha High Court in the Eastern Cape, following a three-day hearing on Shell’s offshore seismic survey plans which was adjourned on 31 May with judgement reserved.

Looking for a bounce from the excitement generated by oil majors’ recent finds in neighbouring offshore Namibia, Lundin Group’s Africa Energy Corporation says its Block 2B joint venture with Eco Atlantic, Panoro Energy and Crown Energy will start drilling the Gazania exploration well off South Africa by September.

One of South Africa’s largest wind power facilities, the Roggeveld Wind farm has been officially launched in the Western Cape by deputy minister of mineral resources and energy Nobuhle Nkabane.

Swedish lithium-ion battery manufacturer Polarium has started production at a 4GWh/yr battery assembly facility in Cape Town, South Africa. The plant was set up by America Tower Corporation Africa (ATC Africa), which signed a bulk purchase agreement with Polarium in 2021, having established a strategic partnership in 2017.

According to national utility Eskom, the Medupi coal power plant in Limpopo province is now consistently achieving its design output.

The City of Cape Town has launched a tender for potential generators and wheeling customers to participate in a pilot scheme which will offer power wheeled over the authority’s distribution network to customers connected at 11kV.

Ngodwana Mill’s biomass energy plant in Mpumalanga province came on stream in March, with capacity to burn up to 35 t/hr of biomass to generate steam and drive a turbine to generate electricity which is fed into the national grid, shareholder Sappi Southern Africa spokesperson Zelda Schwalbach told African Energy.

Mining giant Anglo American has unveiled a 2MW hydrogen-battery truck at its Mogalakwena platinum group metals (PGM) mine in Limpopo province, as it moves to replace diesel engines with hydrogen fuel cells.