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Cape Town-based NOA Group has concluded the purchase of the 350MW Khauta solar PV cluster in Free State province from Germany’s Pure New Energy. Chief executive Karel Cornelissen provided African Energy with details of NOA’s plans for the Khauta projects and beyond.

Ener-G-Africa has officially launched a biomass stove and cookware factory in Paarl, near Cape Town, giving impetus to efforts to promote green cooking in Africa.

A major source of natural gas for South Africa could be constrained as soon as 2025, with declining reserves at Mozambique’s Pande and Temane fields potentially leading to supply shortages. South Africa will need to secure new sources of feedstock if it is to develop the gas-to-power projects that many see as essential to provide baseload for the renewable energy sector that African Energy Live Data shows is gaining momentum.

Doornhoek and Ursa Energy Virginia solar PV plants have become the first two projects under the sixth bid window of the renewable energy IPP procurement (REIPPP6) programme to reach commercial close and sign project implementation agreements.

Political uncertainty grips South Africa ahead of national and provincial elections on 29 May, with opinion polls suggesting the ruling African National Congress could lose its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years, raising the possibility of a coalition government and the prospect of a surge in ‘pork barrel’ politics.

DPA Southern Africa has broken ground on the Bloemfontein solar PV plant in Free State, which will supply power to Africa Data Centre sites in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy is seeking proposals for 616MW/246MWh of battery energy storage systems at five Eskom substation in Free State province.

A new guarantee facility provided by PIDG’s GuarantCo arm could help to increase the number of creditworthy, long-term offtakers able to sign power purchase agreements.

South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has appointed Globeleq’s Red Sands project as the fifth preferred bidder under its battery energy storage independent power producer procurement programme (BESIPPP) first bid window.  The project will be the largest standalone battery energy storage system in Africa and ends the initial phase of the BESIPPP programme.

London AIM-listed Chariot is carrying out a strategic review of its Transitional Power division, which could lead to the sale of its stakes in four renewable energy projects, as well as its shareholding in South African electricity trader Etana Energy.

Climate Fund Managers has provided capital for waste-to-energy developer Bio2Watt Energy Holdings’ biogas projects in South Africa, including expansion of the 4.8MW Bronkhorstspruit plant.

Having reached financial close on its three Koruson II projects, Anglo American/EDF JV Envusa Energy expects to start construction in H1 2024, to install combined wind and solar capacity of 520MW in South Africa’s Northern Cape.

France’s TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy have signed a farm-in agreement to take majority control between them of Block 3B/4B, offshore South Africa. Existing partners say the block is on trend with major Orange Basin discoveries including Venus and Graff offshore Namibia.

Hive Hydrogen has signed an agreement with Cape Town-based Genesis Eco-Energy Developments to secure 372MW of wind electricity for its multi-billion dollar Coega green ammonia plant in Nelson Mandela Bay.  

Mining companies are planning to cut thousands of jobs in response to negative domestic and international factors, which could cause wider economic problems and difficulties for the government in the run-up to the late May general election. Critical minerals offer huge potential, but structural constraints weigh heavy on investors.