Eskom’s position as top dog is looking increasingly less secure

Eskom, once the mighty energy supplier to sub-Saharan countries, is rapidly losing that status as more and more member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) turn for help to their neighbours or start looking at alterative resources.

The falling price of PV, and the effect thereof on society

Photovoltaic (PV) generating technology takes the most basic and abundant resource available to humans – the sun – and converts it directly into electrical energy in a clean and simple way. Semiconductors, the drivers of this conversion process from sun to electricity, are similar in nature to those used in computer microchips and are manufactured, essentially, from purified sand. So why are there not more PV panels on residential and commercial rooftops, or an abundance of solar PV farms feeding electricity into the national grid?

It is time for Africa to think outside the box, by thinking inside the atom

Africa is larger than China, the United States and Europe added together – that is a great deal of land. Africa needs social and economic development, and it is well known that one of the most rapid routes to achieve those goals is electrification. The provision of electricity literally puts energy in the hands of many people who can then use their personal talents to develop business and production capability which, in turn, leads to the social upliftment of the entire community. This is not merely theory – it has been proven to be true time and again.

Politicians, business moguls face crucial decisions

Major hydro and solar power schemes are mooted for Africa, but will there be finance to fund them?

In November this year, many well-known politicians with foreign aid budgets and global moguls with sizeable investment portfolios will be flying over the continent en route to Durban to appear at the 17th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 17).

Energy efficiency is key to good corporate citizenship

Reportedly, the mining industry takes up about 18% of Eskom’s capacity1, which makes it one of the country’s most intensive energy users, besides the reported 49%1 that industry consumes. This same statistic makes mining one of the ideal sectors for potential energy savings, and substantial opportunities exist for reducing demand on the national electricity grid.

Africa’s energy infrastructure is vastly inadequate

In Africa’s Power Infrastructure: Investment, Integration, Efficiency, the facts have been stated bluntly and honestly: Africa’s energy infrastructure is vastly inadequate compared to its requirements.

Off-peak Eskom power for Zimbabwe on the cards

In light of the recent request for “expressions of interest” by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) for suitably qualified financiers and contractors in regard to the planned US$1.3-billion expansion of two existing power plants, Frost & Sullivan believes Zimbabwe is progressing toward meeting required increases in electricity generating capacity.

An appeal to make lubricants less harmful to the environment

Tribology is from the Greek word tribo – τρίβω. The word tribo means “to rub”, and is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as the “branch of science and technology concerned with interacting surfaces in relative motion and with associated matters (as friction, wear, lubrication and the design of bearings)”.

The birth pains of an industry

In the past decade, wind power has experienced an international boom with growth rates in excess of 20% per annum in markets such as the United States, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom; and even developing nations such as India, with tens of thousands of wind turbines being erected. During the same period, South Africa was mostly sleeping, with a few dedicated individuals pursuing commercial wind farm opportunities and only seven large (more than 500 kilowatt) wind turbines being built in our country during the entire decade.