Mining Weekly | Africa

• South Africa to test market for emergency power ‘gap fillers’ as IRP is finalised
  South Africa will release a request for information (RFI) in the coming weeks to test the market for solutions to close an immediate electricity supply gap of between 2 000 MW and 3 000 MW, which has emerged primarily as a result of a fall in the energy availability factor (EAF) from Eskom’s coal fleet and a de-rating of the anticipated output from the much-delayed Medupi and Kusile plants. The situation has been exacerbated further by the fact that no new capacity has been procured since 2014, as well as by a protracted hiatus, between 2015 and 2018, in the construction of renewables projects after Eskom refused to sign power purchase agreements.
• South Africa's energy mix still to lean on coal in next decade
  Coal will continue to play a significant role in South Africa's plan to boost electricity generation over the next decade, with more renewable energy also lined up, Mineral Resources & Energy minister Gwede Mantashe said on Friday. He said the additional capacity for the energy mix until 2030 would include 1 500 megawatts from coal, 2 500 MW from hydro, 6 000 MW from photovoltaic, 14 400 MW from wind, 2 088 MW from storage and 3 000 MW from gas. This will see coal contributing 59% of energy volumes
• Coal will 'be around for a long time', says Mantashe on energy mix
  Coal will continue to play a significant role in electricity generation for the country, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has said. The minister on Friday briefed media on the recently gazetted Integrated Resources Plan 2019.