Eskom

The New Development Bank has agreed to offer a $180 million loan with sovereign guarantee to Eskom. The utility, which is based just outside of Johannesburg, plans to build new infrastructure to integrate 670 MW of unspecified renewables into the South African grid.

A 60 kW floating array was deployed by New Southern Energy at the reservoir of a fruit farm near Franschhoek, in the Western Cape Province. A second phase of the project will also include storage.

As national utility Eskom faces a financial and operational crisis, rumors are spreading that the government may ask independent power producers to renegotiate the tariffs of PPAs awarded in the first two rounds of its renewable energy program. South African solar association SAPVIA has already given short shrift to the idea.

As utility Eskom starts load shedding due to power plant failure, the 4 GW of wind and solar in the country are helping reduce energy shortages. Blue Horizon Energy Consulting Services’ Chris Ahlfeldt tells pv magazine renewables – rather than Eskom’s plans to expand conventional generation capacity – would provide a safer, cheaper solution to the power crisis.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a plan to rescue state-owned power company Eskom by separating it into three units. According to consultants Frost & Sullivan, although that may not be enough to completely address the utility’s financial crisis it may further encourage investment in renewables.

The French Development Agency (AFD) has provided South Africa’s power utility Eskom with a ZAR 6 billion ($477.7 million) credit facility. Eskom, which has delayed the development of several large-scale PV projects over the past years due to grid issues, will use the funds to improve its network and integrate more renewable energy power.