After the first Russia-Africa summit held in Sochi, authorities have been moving to build on this new chapter of Russia‘s relations with African countries. As set in the joint declaration, the two sides have outlined comprehensive goals and tasks for the further development of Russia-Africa cooperation in significant areas including science and technology.

Business interest in Africa is steadily increasing and Russian companies, among them Rosatom, are ready to work with African partners. It is largely acknowledged that energy (construction and repair of power generation facilities as well as in peaceful nuclear energy and the use of renewable energy sources) is an important area of the economic cooperation between Russia and Africa.

Ryan Collyer is the Regional Vice-President of Rosatom for Sub-Saharan Africa, and his key responsibilities include overseeing, implementing and managing all Russian nuclear projects in Sub-Sahara African region. In this insightful and wide-ranging interview with Kester Kenn Klomegah early April 2021, Ryan Collyer discusses efforts toward providing nuclear power, training of nuclear specialists, the main challenges and the future plans for Africa.

Even before the first Russia-Africa summit held in October 2019, several African countries have shown a keen interest in building nuclear power plants. What is the current situation (overview) moving from mere interest to realizing concrete results in Africa?

It is important to note that nuclear is not new to Africa and Africa is not new to nuclear. South Africa has successfully operated Safari 1 research reactor for over 55 years and Koeberg nuclear power plant for over three decades. At one point, South Africa was the second-largest exporter of the life-saving medical isotope, Molybdenum 99, in the world. There are also currently research reactors in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Ghana.

Another source is the cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Thanks to that, many countries like Benin, Ethiopia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and others benefit from modern nuclear technologies applications in healthcare and agriculture. In Zambia, a cancer disease hospital received much-needed support, and now over 20,000 patients have been diagnosed and treated at the hospital. Benin’s soybean farmers could triple their income using the benefits of nuclear irradiation. In Tanzania, its island of Zanzibar became tsetse-free thanks to the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT).

Many other African countries are already working on joining the atomic club in one form or another, whether it be the construction of a Nuclear Power Plant or a research reactor or the development of nuclear infrastructure or the training of professional personnel. In this undertaking, Russia is a trusted partner for many. We have signed intergovernmental agreements in the peaceful use of atomic energy with Algeria (2014), Ghana (2015), Egypt (2015), Ethiopia (2019), Republic of Congo (2019), Nigeria (2012, 2016), Rwanda (2018), South Africa (2004), Sudan (2017), Tunisia (2016), Uganda (2019) and Zambia (2016). Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were signed with Kenya in 2016 and Morocco in 2017
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South Africa is once more experiencing periodic power cuts. These typically take the form of scheduled supply interruptions, for two to four hours a day, whenever the country’s electricity system is overloaded. Such overloading currently happens on 40-50 days a year.

Eskom, the country’s power utility, recently admitted that such interruptions are likely to persist for as long as the next five years. This is because of the increased down-time of the rapidly ageing fleet of coal plants. But it is also due to delays in setting up new power plants.

The decreasing performance of the existing Eskom plants is evident in the steady decline of the energy availability factor. This is a measure of the percentage of total electricity generated compared to what would be achieved when every plant was functioning. The energy availability factor is currently at about 65%. This means that on average 35% of Eskom’s power plants are standing idle at any particular time due to faults or maintenance.

In his 2021 State of the Nation Address President Cyril Ramaphosa offered an action plan to develop additional power generation capacity in the short to medium term. While these interventions are indeed critical, they don’t go far enough to reach power stability.

Emergency power provision
The government has since announced eight successful bidders for gas, wind and solar projects under the 2,000 megawatt Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. In theory, bidders are required to be able to generate electricity by August 2022. But given that solar and wind farms typically take two years to become operational, the stipulated roll-out time is too short. Most of these projects will only be supplying the grid in 2023.
The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme is a mechanism initiated 10 years ago under which private developers competitively bid for the rights to construct new electricity generating plants and then sell the electricity to Eskom at predetermined rates.
The programme successfully established South Africa’s renewable energy sector through three bid windows. But it stalled after 2015 when these new technologies began to threaten the interests of politically well connected interest groups in the coal and nuclear sectors. Projects for a fourth bid window finally received clearance in 2018 following the departure of former president Jacob Zuma, but enthusiasm for renewables has waned again under the current Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe.
The long awaited fifth round has just been announced after inexplicable delays. Prospective solar and wind farm developers have until August 2021 to submit bids for projects generating in total 1,600 MW of wind and 1,000 MW of solar capacity.
The successful bidders may be announced before the end of the year, but will need to demonstrate financial closure before starting to construct facilities. Renewable builds typically take about two years to complete. This means the round 5 projects are likely to come into operation only in 2024. That is two years later than set out by the 2019 national electricity plan.
The 2,600 MW added to the system in round 5 are with intermittent technologies. They only function when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. They will therefore only be adding, on average, slightly under 1,000 MW. That’s too little to overcome the existing power deficit.
Future procurement roundsThe last (2019) instalment of the South African Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity envisaged between 1,600 MW and 2,600 MW of renewable capacity added to the grid almost every year from 2022 to 2030. With the existing delay, the process to effect upcoming annual additions must be accelerated.
But an early catch-up is unlikely, because the minister only committed to one further renewables round, of the same scale, “within the next 12 months”. It’s therefore expected that future rounds will only happen annually, with no more that 2,600 MW being rolled out each time.
At that rate the wind and solar power contributions to South Africa’s electricity will remain below 10% of the national total for several more years. Renewables won’t make a decisive impact to alleviate the country’s power shortage for at least five years.
More gas, coal and nuclear?In addition to the emergency and new renewable rounds, Minister Mantashe has also announced that procurement for 1,500 MW of new coal plants and 3,000 MW of gas plants will begin soon.
In view of their role in global warming, sentiment against new coal plants is now so strong that investment in such projects is extremely unlikely. Nuclear plants are not seen favourably globally either because of their high building costs and a reputation for severe construction delays. Gas is viewed as more attractive, but is an expensive energy source that is mainly envisaged as a backup for emergency situations.
None of these technologies offer rapid solutions.
The small-scale optionIt’s not expected that sufficient alternative power sources will be operational until about 2026. Power cuts look set to stay for the coming years.
On the positive side, this is likely to act as a catalyst for growth in small to medium scale solar installations. These may take the form of domestic rooftop installations or even mini power plants on the roofs of shopping malls or adjacent to mines and industrial plants. Municipalities will also soon be able to set up their local power generation facilities.
So some may escape the power cuts earlier – but investment in such solutions is only for those who can afford it.

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Sporadic scheduled power cuts have been sprung on South Africans for over a decade and serve as a reminder that energy sources are finite, but they have helped the country to re-think its energy options.

Scheduled power cuts, termed “load shedding” by energy utility Eskom, come at great economic cost. In 2019 load shedding is estimated to have cost the South African economy between R59-billion and R118-billion, according to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

South Africa’s per capita emission of greenhouse gas is higher than the global average, but with plenty of sunlight and wind in some parts of the country, which provide alternatives to the burning of fossil fuels, this problem could be addressed while South Africa’s growing energy needs are met.

Tobias Bischof-Niemz, engineer and author of the book South Africa’s Energy Transition, told a Sanedi panel discussion on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba in 2019 that South Africa has a competitive advantage in renewable energy.


This is because South Africa has superb wind and solar resources and enough land on which to construct plants to harvest them. “These three things give South Africa a huge competitive advantage, which can never be taken away,” he said.

Solar and wind power costs have declined and, although initial costs are higher than for conventional energy sources, in the long run it has become the cheapest option for many countries in terms of new generation. It’s believed that most of the world’s energy will come from solar and wind by 2050. By that time only two coal power stations — Medupi and Kusile — are likely to still be operational in South Africa. This reality is also recognised in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for South Africa’s future energy mix.

There is, however, an impression that wind and solar energy is unreliable, but Bischof-Niemz said it is more correct to use the term “variable”. He said: “Wind and solar power is not intermittent. It is variable, it changes over time, and these changes are predictable.”

Energy operators keep an eye on weather forecasts and bring in a flexible power supply such as gas during the times when the other resources are low.ere to edit.

These are the options for renewable energy sources:

Solar

This holds the most potential of all South Africa’s renewable energy sources, as the country receives a lot of sun. It is so rich in solar energy, that compared to countries in Europe, the same plant in South Africa can produce up to 20% more electricity for the same capital investment. This is according to a 2015 paper entitled Renewable Energy Gathers Steam in South Africa by Richard Walwyn and Alan Colin Brent, from Pretoria and Stellenbosch universities respectively.

How it works is that light and heat radiated from the sun is transformed into electricity through photovoltaics, or concentrated solar power.

A solar park has already been built near Kimberley in the Northern Cape, which is set to deliver 180 000 megawatts of solar power every year — enough to power up to 80 000 households.

Wind

This is also a potential major source of energy, especially in Cape Town, which has already built a number of wind farms due to the high wind velocity on the coast. South Africa ranks as having fair to reasonable wind resources on the international scale.

Wind power uses wind turbines which convert the wind into kinetic energy and mechanical power. The turbines have 50-metre-long blades attached to 80 metre-high shafts, on wind turbine farms.

The wind needs to be between 13-90 km/h for the turbines to produce power. These turbines can be offshore or on land, although offshore has stronger winds.

South Africa has 10 major wind power farms and 19 wind energy developments, with more than 600 wind turbines. One of the first farms was near Darling in the Western Cape, which has since 1997 been developed as a national demonstration project.

Hydroelectric power

Hydropower needs flowing water to be turned into energy, and most commonly hydroelectric dams are used for this. Water is then released from the dam, or the reservoir, and that generates electricity.

South Africa has seven hydroelectric power stations but due to a low annual rainfall rate of 500mm, the country’s hydroelectric potential is limited. The Eastern Cape is currently the best region for hydroelectric power.

The dams aren’t only used to generate power, but could also be put to use for irrigation and flood control, which helps to develop the economies around the dam.

This form of power isn’t as environmentally friendly as solar and wind power, especially when done on a large scale, as the large amounts of flowing water can damage the river ecology, and also take up a lot of land space.

South Africa is hoping that the Grand Inga Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo will help supply some of its energy needs, and this is also provided for in the Integrated Resource Plan.

When completed, the Grand Inga will be the largest hydro-electric power generating facility in the world, and will provide energy for much of the region. It will generate more than double the power of the current world record holder, the Three Gorges facility on the Yangtze River in China.

Inga would be a “run-of-the-river” hydroelectric project, which means it needs only a relatively small reservoir to back up the power of the river’s flow.

Even though some environmental pressure groups have cautioned that the project costs will be unaffordable and that other power options should be considered instead, DRC President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo has vowed to push the project forward while he is chair of the African Union.

Biomass

This is the largest renewable energy contributor in South Africa with 9-14% of the energy mix; there are already several biodiesel production facilities. According to the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries the concept of converting biomass to energy “is still at its infancy in South Africa” but holds promise for future sustainable development.

With 42-million hectares of natural woodlands and 1.35-million hectares of plantation there is a large potential for biomass production.

Biomass is generally regarded as any carbon-based material that comes from materials derived from plants and has the capacity to produce electricity, heat or liquid fuels.

It can be used as a direct energy source, such as for heat or cooking fuel, or it can be burned to generate electricity. It can also be used indirectly to produce ethanol, methanol and fuel that can be used for transport and cooking. Most biomass fuel is derived from wood, including tree stumps, forest residue, dead trees and wood chips, but animal and plant matter such as algae can also be used, and so can human and industrial waste.

Producing biofuel from waste could also help municipalities solve the problem of lack of suitable land for new landfills.

Geothermal energy

This is produced by using the heat from the Earth’s crust and converting it into energy. This heat comes from the original formation of the planet and from the radioactive decay of material. South Africa currently has no geothermal energy plants, but there are plans to implement projects. Research has shown that there is high geothermal potential in the country, and the relevant temperatures rank from medium to high on the global scale.

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Spain's new government on Tuesday declared a "climate emergency" and pledged to unveil a draft bill on transitioning to renewable energy within its first 100 days in office.
In a statement announced after the weekly cabinet meeting, the government committed to bringing a draft bill "to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the objective of reaching climate neutrality by 2050" -- effectively net-zero carbon emissions.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's leftwing coalition government, which took office on January 13, also committed to updating the national plan for tackling climate change.

The government has decided to ensure that "climate change and the transition is the cornerstone for all (ministerial) departments and governmental action," spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero told reporters.

Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said the government had been inspired by French moves to create a public advisory panel "to generate ideas about responding to climate change in an inclusive, consultative way with a special focus on the youth."

Last summer, France announced the creation of a citizens' panel on climate change made up of 150 people who would offer ideas and views on an array of issues touching on climate change "in keeping with the spirit of social justice".

At the end of November, the European Parliament voted to declare a "climate and environment emergency" in a symbolic gesture just ahead of the UN global crisis summit which took place in Madrid last month

The motion urged efforts to ensure the "objective of limiting global warming to under 1.5 degrees C (35.7 degrees Fahrenheit)".

It was followed by similar moves in a number of parliaments across the EU, notably in France, the United Kingdom and in Austria.

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Electricity could be delivered to more than a billion people currently living without it within a decade by linking up small-scale projects into a giant, environmentally-friendly network.

According to a new global commission, advances in micro energy grids and renewable energy technologies could “dramatically accelerate change” and transform lives in rural areas of sub-Saharan African and south Asia.

The Global Commission to End Energy Poverty met for the first time this week to set out plans to accelerate the UN’s sustainable development goal to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all people by 2030.

The commission, established by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative and the Rockefeller Foundation, plans to bring together leading investors, utilities and policymakers to tackle energy poverty.

Under the initiative, the distributed networks would help connect homes, businesses and schools to small-scale solar power projects to deliver cheap, sustainable electricity that can help power local economic growth.

The commission includes government leaders, energy industry chief executives and representatives from major development organisations, including Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency.

Dr Rajiv Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation and formerly of the US agency for international development, said “a whole new way of thinking” about energy distribution was required.

“We cannot end poverty without successfully ending energy poverty,” said Shah.

“For 140 years we’ve had this mindset that energy access means building big power plants and connecting them to grids, and that’s how you provide electricity.

“Today, new technology frontiers, business models, and our knowledge of alternatives is so strong that this commission will be able to set out a new roadmap to end the energy access problem for 1 billion people across the globe.”

The commission also plans to help set up new regulation in developing countries to accelerate the rollout of new energy systems, and make the projects more attractive to international investors.

“If I want to start a small solar-powered mini-grid programme in a rural part of an under-served country, I could be prevented from actually providing power without permission from the state-owned utility which might own that business opportunity,” Shah explained.

“That’s one of many policy roadblocks that is preventing distributed solutions from really being easy to invest in.”

Shah will co-chair the commission alongside Dr Ernest Moniz, a former US energy secretary,and Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank.

Moniz warned that existing plans to end global energy poverty by 2030 are “not fast enough” and should be more ambitious.

“Twenty years ago, energy access might have been defined by having a 20-watt lightbulb. One doesn’t want to denigrate that – the shift from having no light to some light is major – but our ambition is more than that. We want energy access that allows for credible family, community and regional economic development. Frankly, we’d like it to allow for entrepreneurial activity too,” he said.

Moniz said that by relying on renewable energy, particularly solar power alongside batteries, developing nations should be able to attract investment in clean energy and rule out the need for future investments in coal-fired power plants. Adopting such methods could also halt the wood-burning that has led to mass deforestation in some countries, he said.

“Speaking personally, there is a lot of concern about a new round of investments in coal funded by Chinese development banks. There could be a lock-in of emissions for the future. We would rather see distributed [energy grid] architecture, including renewables, and potentially with a role for gas,” he said.

Shah added that economic development and the empowerment of women offered the best chance for a low-emissions future.

“If you’re a woman in rural Bihar and you’re able to all of a sudden access electricity, get a sewing machine, create an income, provide light for your daughter to study at night, it’s just transformational,” said Shah.

“We’ve seen the same thing in India and Myanmar and throughout Africa. This commission embarks upon this task with a huge amount of optimism and a real understanding of how important it is in the lives of so many people around the world.”

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Long-term sustainable growth and development in South Africa will require a transition away from the country’s current coal-intensive energy system and economy towards an economy backed by an environment-friendly and renewable energy system.

The country is highly dependent on coal and is energy intensive. This plays out in an economy marred by a considerably high level of unemployment and inequality. Therefore, a transition is needed, speakers said during an Southern Africa-Towards Inclusive Economic Development workshop, in Pretoria, on Wednesday.

The workshop explored scenarios for South Africa’s transition from a coal-intensive energy system and economy towards a climate-friendly and renewable energy system.

Speakers at the workshop noted that while there was no clear, concrete picture of what this future system would entail, it was vital that the country was planning to move towards such a system.
Speaking at the workshop, University of Cape Town economist Faaiqa Hartley emphasised the importance of including renewables in the country’s energy mix.

She indicated that when not constrained, renewable energy presented a source of primary production of electricity.

Moreover, she highlighted that renewables allowed for considerable decarbonisation of the power sector.

A replicable, scalable, world-class Smart City in Abuja that provides all inhabitants with flexible, affordable, and accessible multimodal options at the lowest carbon footprint is being planned.

We have identified a 40 hectares along the Abuja International Airport road to develop a sustainable modern city that will serve as a model for smart urban development, linking affordable housing with climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.

• The World Bank estimated that Nigeria’s housing deficit stood at 17m units as of 2013, the country will require $360bn to close its housing deficit. • Given the country’s current urbanisation trends, Nigeria is set to be the world’s third-mostpopulous country in the world by 2050 and the population of Abuja forecast to double over the same period. • Mixed-use development is a major opportunity in Nigeria at present.

• The lack of adequate, affordable housing is a challenge that undermines social inclusion, equality, people's health and well-being, as well as sustainability • 17 million units housing deficit • Nigerian Population to double in 2050. • Lack of 24/7 power supply.

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and technology-dependent, a new wave of smart applications is changing how we approach everyday activities. We are offering affordable circular economy powered Smart city in Abuja.

Abuja Smart City is a pilot project with the objective of demonstrating the viability of green cities in Nigeria with low carbon and climate resilient housing, infrastructure, public amenities and workplaces powered by clean energy in Abuja. We will develop a sustainable and prosperous urban mixed-use development with multiple green aspects incorporated within it, acting as a pilot to lead the way for further scaling up of Smart City projects in Nigeria. 

We will develop 800 stand-alone houses, 2000 flats, 100 commercial property in the city with green housing, infrastructure, mixed use, amenity, workplaces and small industries. Our target is the middleincome market that is expected to grow the fastest .
800 smart stand-alone houses, @ 50k USD per unit 2000 Flats, @25k USD  per unit 100 commercial property, @ 65K per unit 5 MW solar farm @ .20c Kwh 3 MW Biogas plant @.15KWh.

​The project will be carried out through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development under Contractor Finance Initiative. 
Lagos is taking the lead in supplying middle class housing  with a vast array of new projects on the way. Orange Island is doing 150 hectares of land in Lekki, at an estimated cost of US$ 111 million. It should accommodate 25 000 people and be completed by 2019.  Our  developments are led are private sector driven, targeting  the middle and low income earners, offering world class amenities and management, we plan to dominate this market with a demonstration in Abuja.

• Our project will enhance quality of health and basic services that other developers do not provide in Nigeria including water, sanitation, clean energy, and waste management. • We operate a circular economy. • We ensure 24/7 clean energy, energy efficiency buildings and efficient masterplan • We create green jobs and opportunities.
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The cost of producing hydrogen gas with renewables is likely to plummet in the coming decades, making one of the most radical technologies for reducing greenhouse gases economical.

That’s the conclusion of an analysis by BloombergNEF, which said the most abundant element is likely to play a growing role in reducing pollution from power producers and industry.

The findings add to the potential for widespread use of hydrogen. While the gas has been hailed for decades as a carbon-free energy source, the cost and difficulty of making it has confined it mainly to niches like fueling rockets and helping upgrade blends of oil.

“Once the industry scales up, renewable hydrogen could be produced from wind or solar power for the same price as natural gas in most of Europe and Asia,” Kobad Bhavnagri, BNEF’s head of special projects, said in the report on Wednesday. “These production costs would make green gas affordable and puts the prospects for a truly clean economy in sight.”
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If produced on a large scale, hydrogen could feed into a range of applications, fueling long-haul transport and steelmaking and the manufacture of cement. Each of those industries requires the sort of energy hydrogen packs, delivering temperatures hot enough to melt metal and stone.

Those industries that are finding it difficult to remove emissions. Hydrogen can also be stored, shipped and used to produce electricity or fed into fuel cells that are increasingly appearing in cars and small power plants.

BNEF looked at how to generate hydrogen from renewable sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. It also examined how the gas that’s produced can be stored to provide energy at times when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.

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The respected head of South Africa’s Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office, Karen Breytenbach, has confirmed to Engineering News Online that she has been asked to vacate her position by the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

News of her departure was revealed in a Tweet on Monday afternoon by Anton Eberhard, who is emeritus professor and senior scholar at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. He also heads up the Eskom Sustainability Task Team, appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to offer solutions to Eskom’s financial crisis.

Since 2011, Breytenbach has overseen R209-billion investment in 112 renewable-energy projects with “zero corruption”, Eberhard noted in his Tweet.

Breytenbach, 61, subsequently told Engineering News Online that she had indeed been asked to leave and that the DBSA and the DoE had indicated that an acting head of the IPP Office would be appointed until a permanent head was secured.

She said no reason was given as to why she was being asked to leave.

Earlier this year, an advert bearing the logos of the DBSA, the DoE and the National Treasury was placed in several national newspapers calling for applicants to apply for the position of IPP Office head.

When questioned about the advert at a media conference in April, former Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said that Breytenbach had his full support and would be continuing in the position.

It is understood, however, that, when Breytenbach’s contract expired in February, she was initially reappointed until the end of March and then until April 2020.

However, she has not been paid for the past five months and received a letter on Monday July 22 indicating that she was no longer the head of the IPP Office.

In his July 11, Budget Vote address, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe reported that the DoE was working closely with the DBSA to “transition the current IPP Office into a legal entity that will continue to execute the mandate of the department in bringing about security of energy supply”.

He added the conversion of the office into that of a “juristic institution” would ensure "stability" at the office, as well as “proper accountability of the IPP Office” to the executive of the department.

Breytenbach is held in high regard both locally and globally for having overseen the development and roll-out of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, which is regarded as one of the best renewables competitive bidding programmes internationally.

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