South Africa’s State-owned power utility Eskom said it’s in talks with government ministries over private and foreign options to fund a R390-billion expansion of its transmission network as more renewable generation comes online. Eskom supplies more than 80% of electricity to the continent’s most industrialised nation and has failed to meet demand, resulting in blackouts that have crippled the economy. The utility also owns, manages and maintains the transmission system and plans to build 14 218 kilometers of power lines over the next decade, more than three times what it has installed over the past 10 years. The company is holding “ongoing discussions with key government ministries on the funding of the South Africa’s transmission capital-expenditure requirements” that include the potential use of money pledged by rich nations toward an energy transition and another option to tap private sources, the utility said in an emailed response to questions. Foreign nations have pledged more than $9-billion in climate financing to South Africa through the so-called Just Energy Transition Partnership in 2021. France, Germany, the US, UK and European Union offered the money to help South Africa move away from coal, which is currently the source of more than 80% of the nation’s power.

Retail company Woolworths has launched a Farming for the Future campaign, with the aim of encouraging farmers to implement regenerative farming practices. By partnering with farmers who adopt restorative practices, Woolworths seeks to amplify its impact and foster a community of agricultural innovators, committed to stewarding the land for future generations, says Woolworths chief food technology and sustainability officer Latiefa Behardien.

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the halt in loadshedding over recent weeks; what South Africans should expect for the higher-demand winter period; and the longer-term outlook for South Africa's electricity sector.

The provisional report for the Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry (MDPMI) is expected to be published in October, the Competition Commission announced following the conclusion of the nearly month-long public hearings. The Competition Commission held the hybrid public hearings from March 4 to March 27 to obtain input from stakeholders, including media associations, academics, print and broadcast media, community media, digital platforms, ad brokers and advertising technology (AdTech) service providers, on its probe into the distribution of media content on digital platforms operating in South Africa and the AdTech service providers.

The refurbishment of the Rooiwal wastewater treatment works and the upgrade of the Klipdrift water treatment works in Hammanskraal is well underway, with Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu committing to ensure the success of the projects. The Rooiwal wastewater treatment works is being refurbished to enable its performance at optimum capacity, while the Klipdrift water treatment works is being upgraded from 42 to 92 mega litres per day

The complexity of the water sector in South Africa, along with the numerous and seemingly insurmountable challenges faced, demands a series of integrated interventions – and people are at the centre of these solutions. South Africa’s long-known water woes are the result of several factors, exacerbated by the fact that it is a water-scarce country sensitive to climate change impacts.

The City of Cape Towns’ (CoCT’s) Safety and Security Directorate is enhancing its crime prevention capabilities with the inclusion of new aerial surveillance technology. The information, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) technology will take information gathering “to the next level” in the fight against poaching, land invasions, vegetation fires and illegal street racing, as well as in responding to gang incidents and pursuing stolen or hijacked vehicles, says the city.

Selecting a generator set with a standby power rating might have been sufficient ten to 15 years ago but is no longer a viable option to cope with the current severity of local power disruptions owing to South Africa’s energy crisis, says generator manufacturer WEG Africa senior gensets manager Craig Bouwer. WEG Africa operates a generator manufacturing facility in Cape Town, which supplies standard off-the-shelf generator sets as well as custom-built, application-specific units, with capacities ranging from 10 kVA to 3 350 kVA at 50 Hz.

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) says construction work on two new MyCiTi depots, located on the corner of Spine Road and Mew Way between Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain, is now 65% complete. City officials add that the bus transit project is on track to be concluded by May next year. Construction started in August 2022.

As the demand for greener energy helps drive the increased uptake of wind energy, the dangers that face workers in the sector are becoming even more evident. As reported by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration in a report named ‘Green Job Hazards’, workers in the wind energy sector face a range of catastrophic and even fatal safety risks, including everything from falls to burn and crush injuries, all of which would happen anywhere between 60 m and 120 m above ground.