Green Economy Journal Issue 56

NEWS & SNIPPETS
At Pele Energy Group, we are in the business of sustainability.
Building and enabling the communities in the locations in
which we operate. Not only do we build, own and operate
renewable energy operations, but we develop the surrounding
communities as well. Touws Rivier Commercial Hydroponic
Farm (TCHF) is our inaugural hydroponic agri development in
Touws Rivier, surrounding our CPV1 solar plant.
Understand more about our sustainability offering on:
www.peleenergygroup.com
info@peleenergygroup.com
BALANCE OF POWER
South Africa has renewed its interest in securing electricity
supply from Turkey’s Karpowership as it faces its worst-ever
power outages. Karpowership could deploy its plants, which
produce electricity from ship-mounted generators, to supply
between 700MW and 800MW by the second quarter of 2023.
While it’s unclear what legal mechanism the government could use
to secure energy from Karpowership, the power-crisis committee set
up by Ramaphosa says “emergency legislation" is being considered
to fast-track electricity supply.
The earlier agreement Karpowership secured as part of a 2021
emergency tender for 2 000MW of electricity has been hindered
by lawsuits and environmental activists. A major objection has
been that the emergency contract has a 20-year duration and also
that Karpowership would supply its energy from ship-mounted
gas-fired power plants that would emit carbon and disrupt ocean
life. The Department of Minerals and Energy supports the project.
Karpowership recently refiled an appeal and will get a decision on
its application to proceed with the projects from the Department of
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment by March this year.
[Bloomberg, January 2023]
CORRUPTION, SABOTAGE AND DEBT
The South Africa Electricity Generation Industry 2022 report
on the generation of electricity in South Africa includes
comprehensive information on the extent of the crisis,
actions and projects aimed at relieving it and the sources of
generation that are planned. There is information on the state
of the sector, the role of Eskom and the effect of its financial
and operational crisis and renewable energy and embedded
generation developments.
Electricity generation in South Africa
South Africa’s electricity crisis has worsened as power cuts, which
began in 2007, escalated in 2022. The percentage availability
of South Africa’s total installed capacity of 53.7GW at the end
of 2021 fell to below 60% in October 2022 as Eskom’s coal-fired
power stations continue to break down, resulting in power cuts
to prevent the electricity grid from collapsing. The crisis has been
compounded by Eskom’s debt of about R400-billion and the
need for the country to transition from coal to renewable energy.
Corruption, sabotage, increasing unpaid debt of municipalities
and a loss of skills threaten Eskom’s viability.
AIR LIQUIDE AND SASOL GO LARGE
The two companies have signed two Power Purchase
Agreements (PPA) with Enel Green Power for the long-term
supply of a total capacity of 220MW of renewable power to
Sasol’s Secunda site, where Air Liquide operates the biggest
oxygen production site in the world. These PPAs are the first
results of the Request for Proposal (RFP) process launched
jointly by Air Liquide and Sasol in 2021, for the procurement
of a total capacity of 900MW of renewable energy. They will
significantly contribute to the decarbonisation of the Secunda
site, and to the targeted reduction by 30% to 40% of the CO2
emissions associated with the oxygen production by 2031.
Within the framework of these agreements with Air Liquide
and Sasol, two local majority owned wind projects will be created
by Enel Green Power, the Enel Group subsidiary dedicated to
the development and management of power generated from
renewable resources worldwide. The 220MW wind-powered
renewable electricity production capacity is scheduled to be
operational in 2025.
“Sasol and Air Liquide’s efforts to procure a total of 900MW of
renewable energy to decarbonise our respective operations at
Secunda is another step towards Sasol’s aim to procure 1 200MW
of renewable energy capacity from IPPs by 2030, representing
one of the largest renewable energy procurement programmes
from the private sector in South Africa”, says Priscillah Mabelane,
executive vice president of Sasol’s energy business. “Our work in
the renewable energy space to secure PPA partners demonstrates
the real progress Sasol is making towards its decarbonisation and
ultimately, the development of a green economy.”
Sasol South Africa and Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm signed a
long-term contract for the supply of 69MW of renewable energy to
the company’s Sasolburg site. The PPA between Sasol and Msenge
is the first of several agreements Sasol intends to finalise soon as
it secures the renewable energy supply required to produce
green hydrogen.
Sasol is leading South Africa’s just energy transition and the
development of a hydrogen economy. The production of green
hydrogen, using renewable energy, is key to unlocking this
opportunity. The renewable energy generated by Msenge will
enable Sasol to produce green hydrogen that can be supplied to
customers to enable them to decarbonise their operations or will
be utilised within Sasol’s own operations to produce sustainable
products such as ammonia or methanol.
Sasol will progressively shift away from coal and towards gas
as a transitionary feedstock, and then to green hydrogen and
sustainable carbon over the longer term.
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