energy transition - The African Mirror

Aug

28

2024

Giant batteries to store wind and solar power can speed up South Africa’s energy transition – how that can happen

ENVIRONMENT

SOUTH Africa is at a pivotal moment in its energy transition: trying to decarbonise its economy (move away from coal) and make sure that everyone has access to reliable and affordable energy. Storage of renewable energy is very important for this transition. Solar and wind power are not available all the time. To keep the national grid stable, renewable energy must be stored somewhere and supplied reliably. The country has already made strides in integrating renewable energy into its power grid through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. Since 2010, this has attracted 110 private independent power projects…

Oct

25

2023

By FLORENCE TAN and MUYU XU

Ghana looks to market more oil and gas blocks

BUSINESS

GHANA is looking to boost its oil and gas production by selling more exploration rights, aiming to avoid leaving valuable fossil fuels in the ground and generate revenue to fund its energy transition, a Ghanaian official said. The West African country is suffering its worst economic crisis in generations and has been seeking investors from countries such as the United States, China and India for its oil and gas sectors. "For any investor to look at a temporary hiccup as a basis for decisions in Ghana I think would be making a mistake," said Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, deputy minister…

Jan

27

2023

By The African Mirror

Yellen welcomes South Africa’s energy transition, steers clear of Russia mention

NEWS

ANDREA SHALAL and KOPANO GUMBI U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen lauded South Africa's "bold" participation in an energy transition partnership backed by the United States and other Western nations but steered clear of mentioning U.S. concerns about Pretoria's planned military drills with China and Russia. She welcomed Godongwana's "cooperation and insightful views" in their previous discussions and said she would raise several issues, including Zambia's stalled sovereign debt restructuring effort, given South Africa's key role on the country's creditor committee. "The United States strongly values our relationship with South Africa," Yellen said in remarks that included no mention of Russia…

Jun

14

2022

By The African Mirror

Can SA provide a template for Africa’s just energy transition?

ENVIRONMENT

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY AT the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow last year, climate experts demonstrated how Africa can contribute to global emission reduction owing to its massive green energy potential. A chorus of how the continent could benefit from the dynamics of the global energy transition reverberated throughout the 12-day conference. But unlike the previous forums where rich nations only paid lip service to Africa's bid to decarbonise, the aforementioned states pledged financial incentives to the vision, starting with South Africa which is still dependent on coal. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the meeting in Glasgow that…