Standard Bank and renewable energy aggregator NOA have reached financial close on the 349 MW Khauta South Solar PV project, a flagship renewable energy development, with the introduction of a pioneering financial structure to unlock capital for South Africa’s energy transition.

Bernard Janse van Rensburg, Logistics & Procurement Manager at Mulilo, highlights that as the global energy transition advances, South Africa is quietly becoming a major player in one of the fastest-growing areas of the energy sector: Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). With 1.3 GWh of installed capacity, South Africa now ranks eighth globally, according to a recent benchmark study by Rho Motion. Energy experts recognise that this is a remarkable position to be in, especially for an emerging market still battling the legacy of load shedding and ageing infrastructure.

ActiveWatch is a groundbreaking solution newly launched by Orange Cyberdefense, a global leader in cybersecurity services. It merges continuous attack surface discovery and penetration testing of internet-facing systems and applications to deliver only qualified, high-risk alerts on exploitable vulnerabilities that could compromise an organisation.

With structural improvements made in its generation fleet and the resulting improvement in the stability of electricity supply for the country, Eskom is intensifying its focus on environmental performance and long-term sustainability. The utility says in a statement that it remains firmly committed to reducing its environmental footprint while ensuring energy security for South Africa.

Reflecting on the major power blackout that affected large parts of Spain and Portugal in late May, Sabine Dall’Omo, CEO of Siemens Sub-Saharan Africa, notes that this starkly signalled to the world the importance of stable and modern power grids. The blackout was reportedly the worst of its kind in almost 20 years. Planes, trains, refineries and internet services came to a halt. Traffic gridlocked for hours. Life was turned upside down as chaos ensued. International news reports claimed the cause was a ‘very large oscillation in power’ – when the power grid was unable to absorb a large inflow of renewable energy.