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Saudi developer Acwa Power has signed a power purchase agreement for its Dao hybrid project under South Africa’s long-delayed risk mitigation independent power producer procurement (RMIPPP) programme.

French utility Engie has concluded the purchase of BTE Renewables’ South African assets from private equity investor Actis, six months after the deal was announced. It is the second significant South Africa development for Engie in recent weeks, following financial close on the Grootspruit and Graspan solar PV plants on 30 November.

The COP28 climate talks in Dubai ended on a more positive note than many had thought possible, but for all the talk of eventually phasing out fossil fuels, multi-billions of dollars-worth of climate finance and operationalising the long-awaited Loss and Damage Fund, the crowds who descended on Dubai left with much to do and huge financial shortfalls to make up.

South Africa’s operational nuclear capacity, the Koeberg pressurised water reactor (PWR) on the Atlantic coast north of Cape Town, is in the process of being rehabilitated and upgraded to extend its operational life to 2045. Eskom has confirmed that work has started on the maintenance, refuelling and replacement of the plant's Unit II steam generators.  

To keep South Africa’s faltering flagship Just Energy Transition Programme (JETP) on the road, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and United Kingdom government approved a $1bn guarantee to allow the bank to increase its lending capacity to the programme.

Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has jump-started dormant plans to build South Africa’s first new nuclear capacity since 1985, with an international tender to be issued in March, writes Marc Howard.

Mining and metals group Sibanye-Stillwater has reached financial close on two renewable energy projects that will provide power to its operations via a wheeling agreement with state-owned utility Eskom.

Two projects have reached commercial close under South Africa’s much-delayed renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme (REIPPP5)’s fifth bid window. The solar PV projects at Grootspruit in Free State and Graspan in Northern Cape are being developed by the Engie-Pele Consortium.

A local arm of EDF and Scatec Africa has been awarded preferred bidder status on contracts to develop battery energy storage at four Eskom substations in the first round of the Battery Energy Storage IPP Procurement Programme (Besippp).

The South African government’s decision to approve state-owned PetroSA’s selection of an affiliate of Russia’s sanctioned Gazprombank as the preferred investment partner for the Mossel Bay GTL plant has sparked controversy.

National Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) registered 98 new power generation projects between July and September, with a combined capacity of 908MW, taking the total registered so far this year to 2.9GW. However, few of these new schemes include storage components, meaning that when solar or wind resources are unavailable there will be even more pressure on the grid.

A consortium led by TotalEnergies has signed agreements for the 75MW Mulilo solar PV and battery storage project in Northern Cape, under the much-delayed Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme, while another RMIPPP project has reached commercial close and other schemes are expected to make decisions soon.

Eskom’s board of directors has named former company executive Dan Marokane as the troubled power utility’s new chief executive, eliciting the usual expressions of hope and doubt depending on how industry observers see South Africa’s direction of travel.

Nearly all of South Africa’s climate finance is being provided from local sources, while inflows from international funders remain very low, a new Presidential Climate Commission report shows. While more funds have flowed into Africa’s largest greenhouse gas emitter in recent years, these resources remain insufficient compared to the extent of the actions required to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Cash-strapped South African state utility Eskom says it has used debt and its own cash to finance power transmission infrastructure projects that could unlock more grid capacity in the next few years as market operator NTCSA prepares for operation.