Main achievements of Africa Energy Indaba

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Jeremy Maggs: I want to be with energy. In a keynote speech at the Africa Energy Indaba in Cape Town, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe dismissed concerns that South Africa will run out of natural gas in June 2026, when Sasol will stop supplying it. did. Resources from Mozambique. Mantaş said alternative plans were already in place to mitigate the impact and avoid shortages.

Joining me now is Andrew Maggs, editor of SA Mining Watch. First of all, what were the key messages of the Minister at the time?

Andrew Maggs: Jeremy, I think he stayed true to his script. In other words, it reiterates that South Africa's energy sector will largely depend on what is included in the 2019 IRP, namely the Integrated Resource Plan, and henceforth on the updated and revised 2023 IRP. I think we can describe him. In other words, he supports using all available technology to protect South Africa's baseload. That means, yes, the continued use of fossil fuels, namely coal, and nuclear power, and Mantashe said the government's goal of developing 2,500 megawatts of nuclear power is no pipe dream.

Read: Draft IRP 2024 is an 'admission of failure'

Of course, renewable energy will play an increasingly important role in the energy mix, in particular solar, wind and hydrogen, but will undoubtedly be the most suitable technology to utilize during this transition period. This means that even more emphasis will be placed on gases that are From fossil fuels to producing clean energy with zero emissions in the future. The minister also reiterated that the moratorium on shale gas exploration will be lifted.

Jeremy Maggs: So, Andrew, let's talk a little bit about managing the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Did you learn anything new from the session?

Andrew Maggs: Well, Jeremy, certainly a cornerstone of the transition is the implementation of the Renewable Independent Power Producer Program (Reippp), which has been very successful and tender period 7 is now open under this program. In December last year, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) launched three new calls for proposals under the program, seeking to procure 7,615 MW of new generation capacity from renewables, gas and battery energy storage. Please remember that.

Read: DMRE begins bidding process for nearly 8000MW from IPPs

If I remember correctly, I think it was 5,000 megawatts in renewable energy, 2,000 in gas and gas-to-electricity, and just over 600 megawatts in battery energy storage. Bid slot 8, which is expected to be the last bid slot in IRP 2019, is expected to arrive hopefully this year and will add 5,600 megawatts of area to the grid.

Jeremy Maggs: Go back to natural gas if you can. So, a lot of results have been achieved by returning to it as the best solution for clean energy supply in the so-called transition phase. I think you need to ask if it's feasible and where it's being sourced from.

Andrew Maggs: There is no doubt that it is achievable and is a priority for the government, which has stated that it aims to increase the contribution of natural gas to the energy mix from a level of around 2.5% to just over 15% by 2030. ing. But, Jeremy, there are major limitations. You may have heard the comments from Busi Mavuso, CEO of Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA). He warned that South Africa was headed for a new precipice, with Sasol's suspension of gas supplies from its operations in Mozambique expected to deplete the country's current gas supplies. In 2026.

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So the obvious question is, what about leveraging our own resources? I am specifically referring to Total's significant offshore gas discovery, namely the 2019 Bururpadda discovery in the Outenika Basin. Decisions still need to be made, and there is no doubt that they will be influenced by pricing, shipping prices and whether the gas-to-liquids plant, Mossel Bay GTL, will be put back into operation after care and maintenance. But either way, Jeremy, this country needs to move quickly to utilize gas as an interim solution.

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Jeremy Maggs: How much discussion has there been about who is funding all of this, not just in South Africa but across the continent?

Andrew Maggs: Well, Jeremy, everything requires money, and traditionally there are two streams of funding. Development finance institutions such as DFI, World Bank, and African Development Bank. Most African countries provide financing on concessional terms. And, of course, private financing. institution.

Interestingly, I spoke to Jan Malan from British International Investments yesterday and he said they are funding two wind farms in the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape. Now, they are certainly not going to support new investments in fossil fuels like coal-fired power plants, but interestingly their willingness to fund transmission projects is increasing.

Jeremy, it's generating power very well, but of course you have to evacuate it, and you have to move it through the transmission infrastructure to distribute it.

Jeremy Maggs: Finally, are there any lessons we can learn from other countries regarding energy management and transformation that can be immediately applied to this country?

Andrew Maggs: Jeremy, I think so. Yesterday, I spoke to a representative who described the Namibian government as having a light-touch approach to dealing with private sector participation in the energy sector. In other words, it minimizes interference and regulation and provides policy visibility to prospective investors. So perhaps we should learn something from their experience.

Jeremy Maggs: Thank you very much for your participation.