Loads of News!

CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM PROJECT LAUNCHED IN CAPE TOWN [Engineering News]
2000 Low income houses are to benefit from this project. The Kuyasa Project (not a new name), is receiving R25m to use towards interventions such as "the installation of solar energy heaters, the retrofitting of compact fluorescent light bulbs, and the introduction of ceiling insulation."


DEDICATED ENVIRONMENTAL COURTS TO BE ESTABLISHED SOONER THAN ORIGINALLY PLANNED
This Engineering News article provides stats regarding the increased amount of environmental cases and the poor conviction rate. It is hoped that the new dedicated environmental courts (now to be established within the "next 6 months") will help to mitigate the situation.

SA CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS RECEIVE $500M GLOBAL BACKING [Engineering News]
This article states that: "The South Africa plan includes using CTF financing for:
- The reduction of the high capital cost associated with the construction and operation of Eskom's proposed 100-MW concentrated solar power project, planned for Upington in the Northern Cape.
- The development of the first utility-scale wind power plant, consisting of a 100-MW Eskom wind farm in the Western Cape Province Wind Energy Facility.
- Pioneering private sector wind projects of a further 100 MW and creating a robust pipeline of large-scale wind projects.
- Supporting municipalities and the private sector in the deployment of solar water heaters (SWHs), with a target of achieving 50% of the South African government goal of converting one-million households from electric geysers to SWHs over five years.
- Scaling up energy efficiency investments by catalysing the expansion of bank lending to the commercial and industrial sectors through lines of credit to commercial banks and addressing barriers to energy -efficiency investments."


CLIMATE TALKS LEADING UP TO COPENHAGEN
With just about four days to go before the commencement of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, we refer you to some recent news headlines in this regard: SA meets with Brazil, China and India ahead of Copenhagen Talks This article reports that: "South Africa wanted an ambitious and legally binding two-track outcome from Copenhagen. One track was that developed countries take on ambitious targets for the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, and the second was that developed nations comply with their convention obligations on adaptation, finance and technology." [Source: Engineering News].

OBAMA TO 'SHOW FACE' EARLY AT COPENHAGEN, BUT WON'T BE THERE FOR FINAL NEGOTIATIONS
Read more here, on Engineering News.

LOOKING AT CHINA AND THE USA's RECENTLY ANNOUNCED GHG EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS
USA: "United States will pledge in Copenhagen to cut its greenhouse gas emissions roughly 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, a drop of about 3% below the 1990 benchmark year used in UN treaties."
CHINA: "China, the world's top emitter of greenhouse gases from human activity, pledged to cut the amount of carbon dioxide emitted for each unit of GDP by 40% to 45 %percent by 2020, compared with 2005 levels, the official Xinhua agency quoted the State Council, China's cabinet, as saying."
[Source: Engineering News]

LATEST ESKOM NEWS / SA ENERGY NEWS

ESKOM'S AMENDED TARIFF APPLICATION
Earlier this week, it was announced that Eskom has reduced its most recent tariff hike increase application from 45% to 35%. NERSA is still to announce its decision in this regard. This Engineering News article gives some of the mixed reactions received to this bit of news.

COAL FIRED POWER STATIONS
The articles mentioned below highlight the rising cost of coal fired power stations in South Africa.
KUSILE - Eskom to sell up to 30% stake in Kusile in bid to secure up to R40bn in private equity [Source: Engineering News]. This article is also worth the read because it outlines what is new in Eskom's application to NERSA. It also points out that Eskom is ditching its plans for a 3rd coal fired power station and delaying other projects (nuclear/wind). Also read: Kusile project to be delayed by a year [Source: Engineering News].
MEDUPI - Medupi's capital costs likely to swell beyond R125bn [Source: Engineering News]. Also see this older Engineering News article confirming the details of the African Development Bank loan for this project. Also see this article: R124bn Medupi price-tag another indication of Kusile's vulnerability as Eskom finalises tariff request [Source: Engineering News].

COMMENT PERIOD FOR ESKOM'S TARIFF INCREASE APPLICATION - Under Nersa's approved timelines, public hearings were scheduled to take place across all provinces from January 11, 2010, to January 22, 2010, with a final decision to be made on February 24. [Source: Engineering News].

OUR SUMMARY: It seems Eskom is scaling down in all respects. Strangely, this coincides with me receiving a document claiming to be South Africa's Intergrated Resource Plan for Electricity to be brought before Cabinet (unconfirmed!)[view the document here, file size: 1MB]. It is clear from this document that there are big plans for nuclear in SA. Minister Dipuo Peters (SA Minister of Energy) reportedly said the following in a speech at the Seminar of Nuclear Power: Sheraton Hotel, Pretoria, Tshwane, 20 November 2009: ..."We need to decide whether to build coal fired or nuclear power stations."..."Coal has clearly become a difficult option as carbon emission taxes could be imposed going forward. Accordingly we have drafted the integrated resource plan for the country. This will clearly spell out the road map into the future and it will be adapted as and when circumstances requires us to do so."..."The energy sector of the economy has within it a chance to respond to the desire to create sustainable jobs."..."The nuclear energy expansion programme will require specialized skills. This requires nuclear technical capacity such as engineers and Scientists. The consolidation and co-ordination of education, training and development initiatives to produce the number of skills required for the programme."..."We have been struggling, as a country to create an industrial base that has the possibility to be part and parcel of the international supply chain of much larger industrial players. If there is an industry that is capable of doing this: it is the nuclear industry."..."We remain firmly committed to the realisation of the vision of catapulting our country into the mainstream of industrial and technological innovation. Accordingly, in order to achieve a sustainable nuclear programme and to obtain the potential economic benefits, we are investigating the re-establishment of the complete nuclear fuel cycle. In this regard, Necsa is currently conducting feasibility studies."..."It is indeed true that the experience at Chernobyl and Nagasaki may have given nuclear skeptics an opportunity to criticize the nuclear programme commitment to the peaceful use of nuclear and nearly 25 years of experience at Koeberg has clearly demonstrated that we have the capacity to manage nuclear generation plants successfully and I am convinced we shall do the same with the next generation of nuclear plants that we will surely build."

NORWAY RECOMMENDS A 'SOUTHERN AFRICAN POWER POOL' FOR SA
Read more here, on Engineering News.

MORE MONEY (FROM FRANCE) FOR CARBON CAPTURE & STORAGE R&D IN SA
Read more here, at Engineering News.

ETC,...

ANOTHER HOSPITAL IN GUATENG GETS SOLAR WATER HEATING UPGRADE THANKS TO NETCARE
In one of our earlier posts we told you about what's been done at Pretoria's Netcare Moot Hospital (solar powered aircon). This new Engineering News article tells us about the Union Hospital receiving R1,6m for solar water heating (installation started in Sept09).

FIFA 2010 GREEN GOAL LAUNCHED - Read more here, on News24.