RENEWABLE ENERGY GIVES POWER AND JOBS TO CLANWILLIAM

The Western Cape town of Clanwilliam’s first retail shopping centre to be opened on Thursday is an example of how renewable energy is aiding economic development in small towns with limited access to the national grid, an energy company executive said on Wednesday.

SOLA Future Energy installed a solar photovoltaic system providing the additional power for the Cedar Mill Mall that state-owned power utility Eskom could not supply.

Eskom indicated that it was able to supply only 250 kVA of continuous power due to constraints on the grid, while the mall’s developers, Noble Property, needed at least 500 kVA to get the project off the ground.

“The solution was to utilise the substantial roof space on the mall to install 2580 solar panels with a capacity of 851kW,” SOLA Future Energy CEO Dominic Wills said.

Thanks to the solar PV and an additional battery system, electricity can also be supplied to the mall independent of the central grid, making the centre resilient to power outages that often plague small, remote municipalities.

“In addition to providing power to the grid and off-grid, the exciting potential of solar PV technology is that it can provide solutions that supplement the grid. This technology is deployable in rural settings, where electricity connections are often limited,” said Wills.

The new shopping centre is expected to create 300 permanent jobs.

 Source: https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/1964927/renewable-energy-brings-power-and-jobs-to-clanwilliam-officials/

WHO GETS THE LAND?

The first day of public hearings on whether or not land should be expropriated without compensation, has yielded mixed reactions from those who came to make submissions.

The hearings kicked off in the Northern Cape town of Springbok on Tuesday and will also start in Limpopo on Wednesday.

Parliament’s Joint Constitutional Review Committee has been tasked to determine whether or not Section 25 of the Constitution should be amended.

According to Section 25 of the Constitution, property may be expropriated for a public purpose or in the public interest.

It also states that subject to compensation, the amount, time it takes and manner of payment, should be agreed to by those affected or decided or approved by a court.

Committee co-chairperson, Lewis Nzimande, says that the committee received a wide range of views on the issue of expropriating land without compensation.

“The variety includes, amongst others, the concern about the property rights, private land and even the land that is in the hands of the state and that, that is in the mining companies and commercial farmers.”

The Northern Cape leg of the hearings will continue in Upington on Thursday, Kuruman on Friday and Kimberley on Saturday.

Hearings will also start at the Ephrahim Mogale Town Hall in Limpopo today.

The committee is expected to report back to Parliament by 28 September.

Source: http://ewn.co.za/2018/06/27/start-of-public-hearings-on-land-expropriation-yields-mixed-reactions

ENERGY DEPT NEEDS R1 TRILLION FOR NUCLEAR PLANS

Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene confirmed that nuclear plans will remain on the table but will only be implemented at a pace the country can afford.

Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene says the Energy Department will need a budget of R1 trillion for its nuclear plans.

Nene confirmed that nuclear plans will remain on the table but will only be implemented at a pace the country can afford.

The Finance Minister gave his first public address in Tshwane on Monday at a Fedusa conference.

“Which means we must not move away from the existing plans and we’re sitting with the IPPs as we speak on renewable energy, some of them that are due to be signed quite soon, some of them that are already in operation and that have assisted us in alleviating our energy challenge.”

WATCH: Finance Minister Nene’s first public appearance

Source: http://ewn.co.za/2018/03/06/nene-energy-dept-needs-r1-trillion-for-nuclear-plans