Новости за 12.02.2024

The recent extension of the deadline for responses to the draft Integrated Resource Plan 2023 (IRP 2023) presents an opportunity to incorporate the vision presented by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) for more renewable energy, the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) asserts. Minerals Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe announced a month-long extension to the public comment period to March 23 in a recent speech to the Mining Indaba but without committing to public hearings.

US-based mineral exploration and development company High Power Exploration (HPX), which is backed by Ivanhoe Mines co-chairperson Robert Friedland, has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Liberian government and pan-African diversified investment and operations group Guma Africa Group to enter into negotiations to own, design, finance, develop and operate the Liberty Corridor – a new multi-user infrastructure corridor connecting Guinea and Liberia. The $3-billion to $5-billion project will connect Nimba... Читать дальше...

Crowdsale-financing solar power projects company Sun Exchange will shift its focus to becoming a full-service commercial solar power and energy storage project developer, with all projects to be funded through corporate and institutional funders, but not individuals. “This enables us to continue serving our core sectors of high-impact organisations including schools, retirement homes, non-profit organisations and agriculture, while expanding into larger commercial and industrial projects as well.

A research study to examine the network of risk factors and resilience resources that predict depression among not in employment, education or training (NEET) youth in Africa will be undertaken by the University of Pretoria (UP) and the South African Medical Research Council; the University of Ibadan, in Nigeria; the universities of Leicester and Nottingham, in the UK; and Dalhousie University, in Canada. Across Africa, one in five youths are NEET. In Nigeria and South Africa, at least one in three youths is NEET... Читать дальше...

Tracker’s vehicle crime statistics for July to December last year show an increase in vehicle crime, with a peak in November. Data from the asset tracking company also shows that a business-owned vehicle is 56% more likely to be subjected to vehicle crime than a personal vehicle.

The City of Cape Town is now enabling households to earn cash for the power generated from their solar photovoltaic generation systems.  Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says a first round of applications will close on March 8 for households to earn cash from selling their excess solar power to the city, beyond the existing automatic crediting of municipal bills.

Eskom says the Electricity Pricing Determination Rules (EPDR) approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in December cannot be implemented for the 2025/26 financial year as proposed by the regulator, owing to the time it takes to prepare, adjudicate and approve such applications. In addition, the utility has questioned whether the rules are implementable at all given how far they deviate from established standards used globally for determining electricity tariffs. Following a period of public consultation... Читать дальше...

Power utility Eskom plans to downgrade loadshedding to Stage 3 from 05:00 on Tuesday. This will be followed by Stage 4 loadshedding from 16:00 on Tuesday to 05:00 on Wednesday. This pattern will be repeated until further notice.

Trade credit insurance company Allianz Trade says its latest quarterly Country Risk Atlas found that South Africa demonstrates external resilience to shocks, with abundant international reserves, a flexible exchange rate and limited external debt in foreign currency. South Africa's strengths lie in its positive economic performance, despite challenges such as modest employment rates, loadshedding and critical infrastructure backlogs being identified as the main risks facing the country, it says.

State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has received and operationalised four hydraulic tension mooring units at the ports of Cape Town and Ngqura. This is the first batch of the 52 units procured to improve operational efficiencies at the country's ports by reducing shipping delays caused by inclement weather conditions.

Despite the great difficulty that is involved with running a business in South Africa, the private sector has taken a very pragmatic approach to dealing with the challenges to the business environment, including ideological resistance, vested interests in the status quo, loadshedding and the flawed logistics system. Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso says in her latest weekly newsletter that businesses have to navigate many obstacles, from employment regulations to getting suppliers... Читать дальше...

The last thing Senegal needed in its long-drawn-out effort to capitalize on large oil and gas finds off its coast was political turmoil. Africa’s newest natural gas superstar had bubbled with optimism when BP, Woodside Energy Group and Kosmos Energy agreed to develop the fields off the shores of the West African country a few years ago. The finds were touted as a game changer in a country where villages are still not connected to the power grid and more than a third of the inhabitants live in poverty.

The South African Guild of Mobility Journalists (SAGMJ) has announced the 18 finalists of the Old Mutual Insure 2024 Car of the Year (COTY) competition. “We eagerly await the upcoming competition phase, where the contenders will undergo comprehensive testing by COTY’s expert juror group in early March,” says Old Mutual Insure MD Garth Napier.

President Cyril Ramaphosa stated on Monday that with South Africa becoming an “increasingly attractive destination” for business process outsourcing and customer experience, attracting more skilled workers will be important. Last week, the Department of Home Affairs published for public comment draft amendments to existing immigration regulations that aims to significantly boost efforts to attract workers with critical skills to South Africa. The draft amendments deal with two visa categories: a remote working visa and the critical skills visa.

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has announced that its toll tariffs will increase by 6.25% from March 1. The tariffs are adjusted yearly in line with the Consumer Price Index as obtained from Statistics South Africa.