Page 9 - AfrElec Week 41

AfrElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AfrElec
NUCLEAR
SA parliamentary
committee concerned about
governance failures at
NECSA
The Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy has expressed concern with regard to the corporate governance failures at the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) and called for the Minister to urgently appoint a board.
On Tuesday, the management of Necsa, together with organised labour, briefed the committee about the state of affairs at the corporation.
This happened as a result of a follow-
up meeting from the oversight visit in September, in which the committee learnt about the worsening financial constraints faced by the corporation, which could lead to retrenchment of workers.
The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Sahlulele Luzipo, described the current situation at the Necsa untenable and further called on the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Mr Gwede Mantashe, to urgently look into the newly developed turnaround strategy and, thereafter, present it to the committee.
“Our view is that there is no board at
the corporation and there can never be stability. The lack of co-operation between the management and organised labour is equally concerning. We would like to advise them to go back and engage further on how they can work together to resolve the current challenges,” said Mr Luzipo.
The Necsa corporation consists of four subsidiaries, namely NTP Radioisotopes, Pelchem, Pelindaba Enterprises and Safari-1. The corporation failed to table on time to Parliament its annual report for the 2018/19 financial year. The same happened in the last two financial years.
The committee, however, emphasised that
going forward it will not tolerate late or no tabling of annual reports to Parliament by any entity under its portfolio.
SA PARLIAMENT, Tuesday, 15 October 2019
RENEWABLES
EDF commissions solar capacity at Benban
EDF Renewables and Elsewedy Electric have commissioned two solar power plants in the Egyptian desert with 65MW in capacity each that form part of what will soon be the world’s largest solar power complex.
These photovoltaic projects jointly owned by the partners hold a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC). Their commissioning brings the EDF Group one step closer to meeting its goal under the CAP 2030 strategy of doubling its net renewable energy capacity in France and worldwide to 50GW net between 2015 and 2030.
The solar power plants, which each have 65MWp in installed capacity, are located
in the Aswan province of southern Egypt. They form an integral part of the Benban solar complex, which will soon have capacity totalling close to 1,800MWp. This additional solar capacity represents a step forward towards the Egyptian government’s objective of generating 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Both projects were developed as part of the second phase of the national electricity feed-in tariff programme launched by the Egyptian government. They have received funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and from Proparco.
The commissioning of these two additional facilities in Egypt has cemented EDF Renewables’ positions in the North African solar market, with its global installed capacity now at 2.5GW. The Group now possesses 180MWp in installed photovoltaic capacity
in the region and is set to build a further 800MW as part of the innovative Moroccan
Noor Midelt I hybrid solar project won last May.
“We are proud to be playing our part
in delivering the large-scale Benban solar complex by commissioning these two solar power plants. With the establishment of our new subsidiary in Cairo, we have reached a major milestone in EDF Renewables’ long- term development in Egypt and across the North African renewable energy market as a whole,” said Bruno Bensasson, EDF Group’s senior executive vice president, renewable energies and chairman of EDF Renewables. EDF RENEWABLES
RENEWABLES
AfDB grants Tunisian
Electricity and Gas
Company $138mn
The African Development Bank (AfDB) board of directors has approved a $152mn funding to develop a renewable energy project.
The finance for the project includes $119mn from the bank, $33mn from the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF), $133mn from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and $34mn from the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG).
“This is a truly structuring project. Its impact will be significant on the quality of electricity supplied throughout the country,” said Mohamed El Azizi, the Bank’s Managing Director for the North Africa Region. “As a result, STEG will be better able to cope with the continued rise in demand and to transport an even larger flow of electricity, including that to be generated by future solar and wind power plants, which are under development.” he added. SSThe project aims to strengthen the electricity transmission infrastructure, allowing greater stability Sof the electricity grid and improve the quality of services provided by STEG.
“This operation is one of the prerequisites for the development of renewable energies which will be accompanied by a strong integration of companies, favouring the creation of a new industrial sector generating jobs for young people.” Said Yacine Diama Fal, the Deputy Director General and Country Manager of the Bank for Tunisia.
Over the last three months, AfDB has been investing in Egypt, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Eastern and Southern Africa, Ghana, Benin, Malawi and the Sudan, seeing strong results.
Week 41 16•October•2019
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