Cape Town — Push for Green Energy Stalls as Nearly Half of Initiatives Falter
According to Reuters, nearly 50% of initiatives awarded under the re-launch of South Africa's renewable power purchase programme have failed. This comes after the nation held a bidding round in 2021 for wind and solar projects - after a a six-year hiatus - that saw interest from over 100 firms. However, the government estimates that only half of the 2,583 MW in capacity following the auction will become available.
Eskom's Koeberg Nuclear Power Station Refurbishment Delayed
The Koeberg nuclear power station, where work is under way to extend the plant's operational life by 20 years, will not be returning to full strength any time soon, News24 reports. Departing Eskom executive Jan Oberholzer is believed to have delivered the bad news to the board of the power utility on July 12, 2023, adding to tensions between himself and chairperson Mpho Makwana, and precipitating Oberholzer's sudden departure. Oberholzer had been overseeing the Koeberg project. Each unit of Koeberg delivers 920MW of energy, equal to one stage of load shedding each. The extended Koeberg outage dims hope for an end to load shedding by the start of 2024.
Almost 4,000 Schools Have One or More Structures with Asbestos
A total of 3,912 schools across South Africa, including 1,538 in Eastern Cape, have one or more structures with asbestos, according to a recent response given by the department of basic education to Equal Education (EE) after its Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request. TimesLive reports that the department told EE that 962 schools in KwaZulu-Natal, 562 in Limpopo and 405 in North West have one or more structures with asbestos. The EE's Stacey Jacobs and Elizabeth Biney said pupils still attend schools with hazardous materials like asbestos despite the department of basic education's commitment to rebuild or revamp these schools as far back as November 2016. They said that EE had previously raised the alarm about the dangers posed by asbestos fibres, including that it can cause respiratory illness, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
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Three South African Vineyards Included in World Top 50 Ranking
Three South African vineyards have made it into a top 50 ranking of the world's top wine destinations, with the highest placed - Creation Wines near Hermanus in the Western Cape - coming in at number four worldwide. TimesLive reports that The World's Best Vineyards is an annual award which aims to showcase the very best global players in wine tourism. It is organised by William Reed, a publishing company that specialises in the food and drinks sector. The world's number one is Catena Zapata in Mendoza, Argentina, with Spain's Bodegas de los Herederos del Marqués de Riscal coming in second. Third is Chilean vineyard VIK. The two other South African vineyards on the list are Klein Constantia at number 32, and Delaire Graff at number 36.
