Renewable energy ‘good for SA development’
City Press 19 March 2013 Renewable energy has the potential to spur on socioeconomic development in South Africa, the World Future Council (WFC) has said. According to a new study conducted by the WFC and the Heinrich Böll Foundation, renewable energy feed-in tariff policies (REFiT) were a promisi
Coal strike talks fail, power disruption fears intensify
Engineering News – Online 19 March 2013 JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Talks to end the coal strikes at Exxaro coal-mines have been unsuccessful and the fear of electricity disruption at the power stations the mines serve is intensifying. Diversified resources group Exxaro said in a media relea
Eskom says power supply very tight
Times LIVE 19 March 2013 South African power utility Eskom said on Monday that available spare supply on its electricity network had fallen to just over 1 percent of total capacity due to a sharp increase in unplanned outages. In a bi-weekly status update, Eskom said it had 31,708 MW of capacity for the M
Outages cost mines R481 million
Times Live 19 March 2013 Anglo Gold Ashanti and Sibanye Gold have lost about R481 million after a power outage caused by a lightning strike at an Eskom substation last week forced them to close large operations, according to a report. Business Day newspaper reported on Tuesday that while the outage at the
Eskom issues disconnection notices as municipal arrears pile up
Engineering News Online 19 March 2013 State-owned electricity utility Eskom has confirmed that a number of municipalities in the Free State, North West, Mpumalanga and, more recently, Gauteng are facing possible bulk supply disconnections, owing to nonpayment of arrears debt. Arrears debt of older than 30
New blow to Eskom as software for Medupi fails
Business Day Live 18 March 2013 THE construction of Eskom’s Medupi power plant has hit another major obstacle with the bombshell that critical software for the operating system being developed by French contractor Alstom has failed three tests. Read more
Asia Report: Suntech Debt, Chinese Solar Saga Still Playing Out
RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD.COM 12 March 2013 Suntech has managed to delay a major bond payment for another two months until May 15, but there’s still considerable buzz surrounding the company and this $541 million debt deadline, widely anticipated as a major test of China’s drive to consolidate it
Eskom keeps eye on coal strikes
Business Report 11 March 2013 Production has ground to a halt at another operation of diversified mining house Exxaro Resources after unprotected strikes at two collieries spread to a third coal mine last week, raising fears of mounting pressure on Eskom’s fuel supply. Read more
Solar Photovoltaic Demand to Reach 31 Gigawatts in 2013
RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD.COM 11 March 2013 Another year of single-digit growth forecast for the PV industry, with China, Japan, and India accounting for 36% of global demand. Solar photovoltaic (PV) demand will increase two gigawatts (GW), from 29 GW to 31 GW during 2013, up 7 percent Y/Y according
AEC signs Memorandum of Understanding with KACO new energy for solar energy development
Riyadh / Neckarsulm, 9 March 2013 – Advanced Electronics Company (AEC) of Saudi Arabia and KACO new energy of Germany have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop new business opportunities in the field of solar energy, with the focus on Photovoltaic (PV) inverters. The purpose is to serve
