Page 13 - AfrElec Week 05 2021

AfrElec NEWS IN BRIEF AfrElec

role in the established markets of continental network. tonnes.
Europe. We expect many developers to The EIUG said in a statement that it was Masisi said the government was working
participate through partnerships, leveraging encouraged by Eskom’s support for the raising with neighbouring countries to develop
combined strengths. of the threshold, as well as CEO Andre de infrastructure to access the seaborne coal
Changing policy frameworks and long lead Ruyter’s offer to assist customers with their markets.
times have subdued offshore wind build- distributed-generation applications. “In an effort to develop the routes to
out in the past four years outside of China. On February 2, De Ruyter announced that seaborne markets, my government is working
However, the pick-up in FIDs in 2020 will the utility supported a proposal to raise the in close collaboration with neighbouring
drive an increase in annual installations from licensing threshold to 50 MW, while noting a countries to put in place the necessary
2022, adding certainty to the first half of the recent Meridian Economic analysis indicating infrastructure to facilitate export of coal,” he
decade. that the move could unlock 5 000 MW of new said.
Pipeline acquisitions will continue to be a distributed-generator capacity in the coming Botswana’s state-owned Morupule Coal
source of growth for developers. But we also five years. Mine is developing a mine that will boost
expect developers to go further back in the The analysis was completed following a annual output by 35% this year.
development cycles and build up greenfield survey of industry practitioners conducted by Private coal miner Minergy Ltd started
projects to further grow and diversify their EE Business Intelligence in which respondents exporting coal to South Africa in mid-2020,
portfolios, but also to subdue competition indicated that South Africa’s cumbersome and is hoping to win a contract to supply coal
and, in turn, strengthen margins. We’re licensing processes were an impediment to to South Africa’s power utility Eskom.
already seeing this trend play out in the steep investment in distributed-generation facilities. Botswana is turning to coal as investors
and consistent increase in new developer turn away from the most polluting of fossil
alliances in emerging markets. fuels.
Greenfield developments will be a central The diamond industry, meanwhile, is
theme in 2021 in both existing markets, where COAL showing signs of rallying from a period of
new lease areas will be awarded, and in new oversupply and weak demand made worse
markets. That means more frontiers will be Botswana looks to coal by the restrictions and economic devastation
broken down and new basins will light up on caused by Covid-19.
the offshore wind map. Botswana must diversify into commodities Anglo American unit De Beers reported
WOOD MCKENZIE such as coal and base metals as a matter of higher diamond sales, boosted by robust
urgency, after a difficult year for diamonds demand ahead of the Chinese New Year and
sapped government revenue, Botswana’s Valentine’s Day.
COAL President Mokgweetsi Masisi said, Reuters But exports of rough diamonds mined
reported. by Debswana, the joint venture between De
South Africa’s EUIG lobbies weakness in the diamond sector, which Beers and the Botswana government, fell by
The Covid-19 pandemic aggravated
30% in 2020.
for higher 50 MW licence accounts for 80% of Botswana’s export
earnings.
cap than ever made it imperative for us to urgently
“Overdependence on diamonds has more

The Energy Intensive Users Group of expand our revenue base to other minerals
Southern Africa (EIUG) has called for South such as coal and base metals,” the president
Africa’s licence exemption threshold to be told the Investing in African Mining Indaba.
raised from 1 MW to 50 MW. Botswana aims to promote prospecting
It also called for an updating of the current and mining of other minerals, including coal,
framework for wheeling power across the of which the country has an estimated 212bn

Week 05 04•February•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P13