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South Africa’s power outages could reach critical levels this winter – likely scenarios

South Africa’s power outages could reach critical levels this winter – likely scenarios

OVER the past 15 years South Africa has been experiencing a gradually worsening number of electricity cuts. This state of affairs has prompted frustration among citizens, negative international economic sentiment and financial hardship for many businesses. Public pressure has grown more intense, leading to the extraordinary presidential decision by President Cyril Ramaphosa to proclaim a state of disaster as well as to appoint a Minister of Electricity. Author HARTMUT WINKLER, Professor of Physics, University of Johannesburg The year 2022 was marked by the worst power outages in the country’s history. Electricity generation deficits reached up to 6 GW on occasion,…
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Ethiopia’s bold $40 -billon plan for clean energy

Ethiopia’s bold $40 -billon plan for clean energy

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD ETHIOPIA is on course to become a net exporter of energy as it unveiled a $40-billion roadmap to build 71 power projects over the next ten years. Of those projects, 16 are hydro-power, 24 wind, 17 steam, and 14 are solar, making the model arguably one of the world’s biggest policy shifts towards clean energy and potentially building Ethiopia into a leader in clean energy in Africa. At the same time, Ethiopia will bolster its electricity generating capacity from the current 4,200 MW to around 35,000 MW by 2037. The East African state is inching closer to…
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Power woes hit Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Burkina

Power woes hit Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Burkina

LOUCOUMANE COULIBALY and ANGE ABOA  A drop in electricity generation in Ivory Coast and Ghana has left households and businesses fuming as well as cutting power supplies to neighbouring West African countries Mali and Burkina Faso, officials said. A prolonged dry season has reduced water levels at hydropower dams in both countries that in some cases could take months to resolve, hampering productivity, raising costs and hitting the economies of the world's biggest cocoa producers. In Ivory Coast, which exports power to six countries, the national power company faces a generation deficit of about 200 megawatts (MW), or nearly 10%…
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