SANEA Talking Energy - May 2008

Ethanol Versus Solar Energy — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:26 AM

Solar energy produced from one acre of land, compared to the ethanol energy produced from one acre of corn. One acre of good corn growing land in America will produce about 140 bushels of corn during a one year growing season. As a matter of interest the all time record harvest is over 260 bushels per acre but we also have to remember that more often the all time low has been zero bushels per acre. A bushel is considered to be about 56 lbs.

SA seeks to import gas from Qatar - Mbeki — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:30 AM

South Africa is looking to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the gas-rich Gulf Arab state of Qatar. "South Africa is indeed interested to acquire from Qatar, liquefied natural gas," President Thabo Mbeki said during a two-day state visit to that country. South Africa is planning an integrated energy project at the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ), east of Port Elizabeth, which would use LNG to produce electricity.

Eskom looking at regional power options to boost local capacity — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:32 AM

South Africa would look at regional electricity options to meet the target of adding an extra 40 000 MW of electricity to its national grid by 2025, State power utility Eskom chief officer for networks and customer service Erica Johnson said recently. Speaking at an electricity conference, she said that there were possibilities of importing coal-generated power from Botswana and Mozambique, natural gas-generated power from Namibia and Mozambique, as well as base-load hydropower from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

PBMR signs research pact with another local university — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:35 AM

The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) company signed an agreement for continued research on the nuclear fuel to be used in the first demonstration pebble bed modular reactor. PBMR CEO Jaco Kriek said that the company was establishing a network of expertise with South African universities to improve designs for the PBMR, and that NMMU was an important node of this network.

Zuma says foreign skills welcome in South Africa — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:37 AM

Ruling party African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma said that, as well as training up its own citizens, South Africa should welcome foreign skilled workers to its shores, as this would actually help create work opportunities, rather than snatching up local jobs. He stated that it was a misconception of ‘some xenophobic compatriots’ arguing that immigrants steal jobs, and that they really ‘assisted the domestic economy to create decent work opportunities for South Africans’.

Sasol to decide on 2009 hedging by June - CFO — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:39 AM

Sasol, the world's biggest producer of fuel from coal, will decide before June whether to hedge part of its 2009 production, said CFO Christine Ramon. "We have consistently hedged 30 percent of our synfuels production, (but) this is something we review annually, we do not adopt a long-term strategy," Ramon told an analysts' presentation.

Old fuel pumps to be dumped by next year — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:41 AM

Filling station owners have until the end of the year to replace or adjust fuel pumps that can't show prices over three digits, according to the SA Bureau of Standards (SABS). Certain pumps can't show more than three digits, thus rendering them unable to reflect fuel prices of more than R9.99.

Myths concerning high fuel costs and fuel shortages — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:48 AM

An expert on alternative fuel strategies for business identifies the leading myths concerning high fuel costs and fuel shortages. These myths hinder the development and deployment of alternative fuels including ethanol, methanol, butanol, di-methyl either (DME), bio-diesel, straight vegetable oil, bio-methane, hydrogen, natural gas, propane, and synthetic liquid fuel. The author argues business managers should educate themselves so they can begin to address alternatives to rising fuel costs and shortages affecting their business.

Sasol expects earnings surge, but lowers '08 fuel output forecast — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:50 AM

Petrochemicals firm Sasol said that its headline earnings for the 2008 financial year could rise by as much as 60% on the back of a higher oil price and favourable exchange rate, but warned that its synfuels production was expected to be lower than its previous guidance.But while the synfuels production would be lower than previously foreseen, Sasol said that it would still be higher than the prior year and added that the group's overall production rate had improved.

Abundant Waterberg coalfield capable of hosting many more power stations — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:53 AM

South Africa has hidden energy in the Waterberg – some 50-billion tons of it. A quarter of those 50-billion tons could be mined using the opencast mining method, and the remaining three-quarters of it using the underground mining method, depending on the market trends and logistics.

SA launches first commercial wind farm in W Cape — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:55 AM

South Africa's first commercial wind energy project, the 5,2 MW Darling Wind Farm in the Western Cape, was officially launched by Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica. Speaking at a media briefing, she said that although this project was modest in terms of its generation capacity, the timing of the launch of the wind farm was perfect in light of the country's current energy crisis.

Thinking about emigrating because of power outages, think twice. — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 11:57 AM

Hundreds of thousands of people were hit by electricity blackouts yesterday when seven power stations shut down. The unscheduled stoppages were regarded as an unprecedented sign of the fragility of Britain’s power infrastructure. Operations were cancelled, people were stuck in lifts, traffic lights failed and fire engines were sent out on false alarms. Householders were unable to use any appliances or make phone calls as the blackouts hit areas including Cleveland, Cheshire, Lincolnshire and London.

MEETI training courses in June — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-28 01:21 PM

MEETI is once again running courses that will be valuable to the energy community. Available are the course outlines for the relevant MEETI courses including Fuel Qualities, Specifications and Compliance, Programme in Energy Industry and Climate Change Policy and Strategy: Managing Risks and Benefits in the Carbon Economy. For more information send an e-mail to info@meeti.org.za or visit www.meeti.org.za

Union calls for enquiry into Eskom's skills before final tariff decision — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-29 03:20 PM

Power utility Eskom should only be granted a temporary tariff increase, pending a thorough investigation into the company's skills requirements, trade union Solidarity said recently. In a presentation delivered at the National Energy Regulator of South Africa's (Nersa's) hearings into Eskom's request for a 60% tariff hike, the union said that at least 346 engineering and artisans have left the company last year - at a time when it would need thousands of new engineering and artisans for its planned expansion.

PetroSA reports Cape gas well find — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-29 03:23 PM

State-owned PetroSA has discovered a new gas well off the southern Cape coast. The well, 95 km south-south-west of Mossel Bay, was found through PetroSA's R5-billion 'Project Jabulani' initiative, which is focused on drilling around existing gas and oil fields in the area.

Climate change policy and strategy — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-29 04:09 PM

 

Management Programme in Energy Industry — by VDW — last modified 2008-05-29 04:14 PM