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The 153 MW/ 612 MWh Red Sands battery energy storage system (BESS) project in the Northern Cape has advanced to commercial close, following the signing of project agreements with the Department of Electricity and Energy and the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA).

The project is being developed by Globeleq in partnership with African Rainbow Energy, and was selected as a preferred bidder in 2024 under South Africa's inaugural BESS bidding round for 513 MW/ 2 952 MWh across five substation sites selected in the same province by the NTCSA.

It is the last of the five projects selected during the bid window to achieve commercial close, with the other four under construction.

In a statement, Globeleq described Red Sands as the largest standalone BESS plant in Africa to have reached commercial close, with the project set to span about five hectares.

The other projects awarded during the round, which are being led by EDF and Scatec, are between 77 MW and 103 MW in size, and also have four hours of storage capacity.

While the investment value has not been confirmed, an evaluation price released when the project was identified as a preferred bidder was R16.9-billion.

Red Sands will be the second utility-scale BESS to be built by Globeleq, an African independent power producer owned by the UK government's British International Investment.

CEO Jonathan Hoffman described the project's commercial close as a landmark moment for Globeleq and for battery storage in Africa.

"Building on over a decade of renewable-energy leadership in South Africa and our Cuamba solar-plus-storage plant in Mozambique, we're integrating battery storage across our portfolio to support resilient, low-carbon power systems across Africa," Hoffman added.

African Rainbow Energy CEO Brian Dames said the investment supported its objective to utilise modern and renewable-energy technologies to provide affordable electricity in South Africa and also marked substantial progress in meeting its R3-billion investment commitment to the country.

The Red Sands BESS project will connect to the Garona substation and will help enhance grid stability by storing energy during off-peak times and releasing it during periods of peak demand.

It will also provide ancillary services and grid management support to the NTCSA.

NTCSA interim CEO Segomoco Scheppers said the entity looked forward to the positive impact of having battery technology in the energy mix, which would "contribute to the country's dispatchable load and promote grid stability by the supply of ancillary services".

The ancillary requirements included instantaneous reserves, regulating reserves, ten-minute reserves, and supplemental reserves.

To date, South Africa has procured a total of 1 744 MW/ 6 979 MWh of BESS capacity across three public procurement bid windows in line with the 2019 edition of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and no additional BESS bid window will be pursued until the next IRP edition is published.

Much interest is being shown in relation to the opening of the freight logistics system to private sector participation. But there is also an urgent need for immediate investment. Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the short- and medium-term investment outlook.

In its newly released Automotive Trade Manual 2025, naamsa | The Automotive Business Council describes 2024 as "a taxing year".

The combined export value of vehicles and automotive components from South Africa dropped by R2-billion, or 0.7%, from the record R270.8-billion in 2023, to R268.8-billion in 2024.

Vehicle exports declined to 390 844 units, down from the record 399 809 units exported in 2023.

Automotive component exports were down by R3.5-billion, from R66.9-billion in 2023, to R63.4-billion in 2024.

Total vehicle production in 2024, at 599 753 units, was also well below 2023's 632 362 units.

Despite last year's declines, Naamsa notes that the domestic automotive sector remains the largest manufacturing sector in the country.

Vehicles and automotive component exports comprised 14.7% of total South African exports in 2024.

Also, a substantial 22.6% of value- addition within the domestic manufacturing output was derived from vehicle and automotive component manufacturing in 2024, while the broader automotive industry contributed 5.2% (3.2% manufacturing and 2% retail) to GDP.

The question, however, is what 2025 will look like for the domestic industry once the calendar turns to 2026.

Vehicle exports to end-May managed to inch ahead and were 1.4% ahead of the same period last year, following a slowdown in April and May on the back of some global fireworks and a local carmaker rejigging its Eastern Cape plant.

First-quarter domestic vehicle production decreased by 0.4% compared with the same period last year.

While the global economy had already started to show signs of strain towards the end of last year, Donald Trump's January inauguration as US President created an entirely new level of uncertainty as he started to wield tariffs as an economic weapon, including against South Africa, with far- reaching consequences.

A rapidly rising Chinese automotive industry also looms increasingly larger on the horizon.

Scramble for Markets

naamsa chief trade and research officer Dr Norman Lamprecht says one potential threat to the South African automotive sector in exceeding 2024's fairly healthy numbers is the fragmentation of the Government of National Unity, as was evident in its inability to agree on the 2025/26 Budget.

Such fragmentation impacts on businesses' planning processes, as well as consumer and business confidence.

As new-car sales are inextricably linked to economic growth, any action that threatens the domestic economy also acts as a minus sum on car and truck sales and production, adds Lamprecht.

Another threat would be the global trade policy landscape remaining trapped in a period of heightened uncertainty.

Concerns about high tariffs, coupled with a weaker rand exchange rate, could potentially delay further interest rate cuts, which could dampen the demand for new vehicles in South Africa.

This uncertainty could also negatively affect demand for new vehicles in South Africa's main export markets, as well as their affordability.

"Along with a tariff-led trade war, such as China retaliating against the US, geopolitical risk is anticipated to overtake inflation as the primary risk factor in 2025," notes Lamprecht.

"The automotive sector, which relies heavily on stable supply chains for components and raw materials, may see volatility in both costs and availability, necessitating continuous strategic risk management and the diversification of supply sources."

Lamprecht warns that high tariffs in the US will have a significant secondary impact around the world as South African exporters are likely to face increasing competition in their existing export strongholds from companies and countries desperately seeking new export markets.

What's Happening in the US?

It is almost impossible to provide an answer on the current trade situation between the US and South Africa that will still hold true tomorrow.

The latest dispatch from the trade spat is that a new deal could potentially enable South Africa's automakers to exp...

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has again rebuffed allegations of a conflict of interest in the selection of independent power producer (IPP) Mulilo as a preferred bidder during the recent public procurement of battery energy storage systems (BESS) at pre-selected substation sites.

Besides defending the integrity of the BESS procurement process overseen by the IPP Office during a nearly four-hour meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy on June 26, the Minister also responded to questions posed by members of Parliament from the uMkhonto weSizwe Party and Economic Freedom Fighters during a plenary session in the National Assembly later that afternoon.

The two opposition parties have alleged that the award to Mulilo is improper, owing to the fact that its chairperson, Jan Oberholzer, had been COO of Eskom only months before being appointed to his current position and the launch of the BESS bidding rounds. Oberholzer left Eskom in July 2023 and was appointed Mulilo chairperson in September.

The IPP Office has overseen three bid windows for the technology, with the first launched in March 2023, the second in December 2023 and the third in March 2024.

Mulilo, which is a South African-owned IPP, initially partnered with EDF during the first bid window, but was the lead projects sponsor in the subsequent two bid windows and four of its projects were selected as preferred bids during the latest bid window, awarded in May.

Of the 18 BESS projects awarded across all three BESS bidding rounds, Mulilo is participating in 12, including nine as the lead sponsor, where the combined investment value of the projects is R14.6-billion.

In a presentation to the portfolio committee, an in-depth explanation was provided regarding government's decision to procure BESS capacity at substation sites selected by the National Transmission Company South Africa in the Northern Cape, the North West and the Free State.

The presentation showed that a total of 1 744 MW/ 6 979 MWh of BESS capacity had been procured across the three bid windows in line with the 2019 edition of the Integrated Resource Plan and Ministerial determinations published in 2020 and 2023 to address grid congestion, as well as to provide ancillary services to the system operator.

The tenders were evaluated based on a 90:10 scorecard, with 90% based on price and 10% on economic development criteria, and included a stipulation of at least 49% South African ownership and 40% black ownership in the special purpose vehicles developing the projects.

The IPP Office has a well-established bidding framework and the evaluation of bids is conducted by independent transaction advisers and the outcomes reviewed for compliance by an independent chartered accounting firm.

In addition, bidders are required to submit a declaration of interest, including whether any of its directors are listed on the National Treasury's database as companies or persons prohibited from doing business with the State, listed on the register for tender defaulters, have been convicted by a court of law, or are regarded as politically exposed persons.

In the presentation, it was confirmed that Mulilo provided a specific disclosure on the role of Oberholzer as the former COO of Eskom Holdings.

The company's bid responses were assessed for compliance with the request for proposals (RFP), including by the independent legal transaction advisers, which concluded that there was "no basis to disqualify" Mulilo.

Ramokgopa reiterated this position in the plenary, where he also stressed that Eskom was not directly involved in the procurement of IPP capacity, despite being the ultimate buyer of the energy.

He said that Mulio had complied with the requirements of the RFP, had disclosed the role that Oberholzer played at the company, as well as his previous role at Eskom, and there had been no legal finding of a conflict of interest.

"I want to repeat, if there is any evidence [of a conflict of...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his support for extending the use of the Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) to the broadband telecommunications sector as proposed in a draft direction published by Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi.

While making no specific reference to the controversial draft direction, which is currently out for public comment, Ramaphosa told members of the National Council of Provinces that the EEIP was consistent with South African law and government's commitment to economic transformation and black empowerment.

He also stressed that the proposal to extend the EEIP to the telecommunications sector was not specifically designed to support the entry of Elon Musk's Starlink, which is operated by SpaceX, and which opposes the prevailing Electronic Communication Act's requirement for licensed telecoms firms to have 30% black equity ownership.

Ramaphosa was responding to an initial question by the Democratic Alliance's Nicolaas Pienaar as to whether, following his visit to the US that included an uncomfortable Oval Office meeting with US President Donald Trump, Ramaphosa had concluded that the broad-based black economic empowerment policy needed to be reworked, as well as supplementary questions that made specific reference to Starlink and the legality of extending the EEIP as proposed.

Describing the EEIP as a "innovative way" for multinationals to invest in South Africa and meet their transformation commitments without selling any direct equity, Ramaphosa said Malatsi's proposal was "very much in line with our laws".

"There is no violation as far as he is concerned and as far as I am concerned."

However, Ramaphosa also indicated that public hearings would be held before any changes were introduced.

This, amid strong objections by several political parties to the direction Gazetted by Malatsi on May 23, for a 30-day comment period.

Opponents suggest that the introduction of the EEIP in the sector would dilute empowerment, prejudice incumbent operators and undermine the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa.

A number of lawmakers have also expressed a preference that Malatsi pursue a legislative amendment rather than a policy intervention by way of a Ministerial direction.

Ramaphosa, meanwhile, argued that government was ready to be innovative in its pursuit of transformation, while describing the principle of transformation as "not negotiable".

He also indicated that extending the EEIP scheme to telecoms licensees would be a case of synchronising the communications law with other laws, given that multinationals in other sectors, including the information and communication technology and automotive sectors, were already implementing EEIP programmes.

Global emissions from energy grew 1% to a record 40.8 Gt of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2024 as total energy demand rose 2% to a new high of 592 exajoules (EJ), the latest 'Statistical Review of World Energy' shows.

Produced for the second time by the Energy Institute, in collaboration with Kearney and KPMG, the review marked its seventy-fourth edition, having been produced until 2023 by energy group BP.

The report noted that it was the fourth consecutive year of record CO2e emissions from the energy sector, which came amid extreme weather events across the world and with global average air temperatures having regularly exceeded 1.5 °C above the pre-industrial age.

Energy Institute CEO Dr Nick Wayth said that, for the first time since 2006, all energy sources reached record production levels, including coal, hydro, oil, gas, nuclear and renewables.

Renewables also remained the fastest growing energy source with a 7.6% increase in energy supplied, with record solar PV additions recorded, growing by nearly 28% and adding 455 TWh during 2024.

"In fact, solar alone added 50% more than coal and gas additions in power combined," Wayth said.

The report also underlined the rise of electricity over other energy sources, with global electricity generation having grown on average around 2.6% yearly over the past ten years, which was about twice the rate of total energy demand.

In 2024, electricity demand grew by 4%, which the report described as an indicator that the world's energy system continued to electrify.

In addition, since 2010 the world had avoided using 1 371 EJ of fossil fuels and emitting 110 Gt of greenhouse gases through renewables and nuclear.

Nevertheless, Wayth also argued that the statistics pointed to a "disorderly" transition rather than a "clean handover from fossil fuels to renewables".

"The energy transition is progressing, but unevenly - some regions are cutting fossil use, others are expanding it."

Wayth described China as a particular "paradox", owing to its position as the world's biggest driver of renewables growth and its largest source of emissions.

Over the past decade China had nearly doubled its electricity supply, adding 405 TWh more than Europe's entire 2024 electricity generation, and last year, excluding hydro, China was responsible for nearly 60% of total global renewable power supply additions. Nevertheless, coal continued to dominate China's electricity sector, generating 58% of its output in 2024, while the country accounted for around a third of global emissions.

RISE OF ELECTRICITY

However, Energy Institute president Andy Brown said the statistics also pointed to several positive developments, especially in relation to the rising role of electricity, which was underpinned by the growth in renewables.

"To get to the future, we have to decarbonise our electricity system, and we have to electrify everything we can.

"Therefore, the 4% increase in electricity is a very good result, and 53% of that increase comes from renewable sources - so we can take real comfort from that," Brown said.

Likewise, he argued that developments in China were promising, especially the rapid rise of electricity demand, which was being met overwhelmingly by solar PV, hydro and wind.

"China is the most electrified energy system of any advanced economy in the world, and it's growing fast, and it's doing it now predominantly with low-carbon additions.

"It's still 58% coal in power generation, but it was 70%.

"So, what we can see is China is starting to decarbonise its electricity system, while growing the role of electricity in the energy system.

"This is a model of the future of energy transition," Brown argued.

Worryingly the statistics show that growth in energy demand in Africa continued to lag the rest of the world.

"For the nearly 1.5-billion people who have the least access to energy, total energy demand only increased by 1% … increasing the gap between Africa and India," Wayth said.

"The lack of access to e...

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has underlined the importance of the National Treasury's Budget Facility for Infrastructure in helping Transnet to fund the near-term rail and port investments needed to meet a yearly 250-million-ton freight rail target by 2030. This, in light of an expectation that private sector participation (PSP) initiatives across the freight logistics system are likely to take another two years to advance to financial close let alone enter into commercial operation.

Speaking on a platform hosted by PSG, Creecy expressed her happiness at the more than 160 formal responses to a recent request for information on possible PSP projects across rail corridors and the ports system hitherto monopolised by Transnet.

A total of 51 responses were received in relation to infrastructure investments on the iron-ore and manganese corridor, 48 for the coal and chrome corridor, and 63 responses were received in relation to the container and automotive intermodal corridor.

She said her department's PSP unit was currently combing through the responses, which will be used to shape the commercial request for proposals (RFPs), which are scheduled to be released before the end of 2025.

Various models would be assessed, including concessions, build-operate-and-transfer projects and public-private partnerships, and Creecy expressed optimism in government's ability to convert the prevailing market appetite into viable projects.

The fact that South Africa was a late mover when it came to rail and port reform also meant that her department was actively drawing lessons from the successes and failures in other countries as it sought to finance domestic PSPs that were not too onerous on the State but were still attractive to private investors.

While seeking to strike that balance, Creecy confirmed that attention was still being given to embedding maintenance, transformation and industrialisation requirements into the RFPs, as well as to ensuring ongoing interoperability across the networks.

Efforts were also being made to build an adjudication system that was able to cope with assessing what could be complex technical and financial bids while avoiding a repeat of the legal delays that had arisen with Transnet's appointment of a preferred partner for the Durban Container Terminal Pier 2.

SHORT-TERM FUNDING

However, there was also an urgent need to increase volumes across the rail and port system as it currently stood, both through opening the rail system to third-party operators and by improving the condition of the existing infrastructure.

Creecy expressed optimism that Train Operating Companies, or TOCs, would begin entering the system now that the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager was in place and the Network Statement published.

However, there was also an urgent need to invest in the rail infrastructure and signalling systems to facilitate the entry of third-party TOCs and additional funding sources were, thus, required.

Part of this funding could arise through co-funding projects with existing customers and work was under way on finalising a legal instrument for such partnerships.

In addition, Transnet had participated in the last two BFI bid windows, which were now being run quarterly by the National Treasury.

For the 2025 Budget cycle, the BFI has approved nine projects with a total value of R55.5-billion, of which R15.3-billion will be funded using BFI funding, and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana indicated earlier this year that the Cape Town Container Terminal Expansion Phase 2B was one of the successful projects.

"We understand that bringing in third parties to invest in the infrastructure is going to take time.

"If we issue the calls for proposals at the end of the year, it will take us two years to reach financial close, and that's why this interim request to the BFI is so important," Creecy explained, indicating that Transnet had set a 180-million-ton rail target for 2025/26, up from 161-million tons last financial ...

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the latest developments with Eskom's repowering initiative under its Just Energy Transition strategy.

In this opinion article, Bishop Thulani Mbuyisa, the chairperson of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, argues that South Africa's G20 presidency should not be remembered for polite communiqués and photo opportunities, but as the moment when Africa took the lead in shaping the global response to debt, hunger, poverty and the climate crisis.

This year, as South Africa assumes the presidency of the G20 for the first time, the nation carries not only a geopolitical responsibility - but a profound moral opportunity. The G20, a grouping that represents 85% of the global GDP, must not remain a platform for the wealthy and powerful to reinforce the status quo. It must become a vehicle for transformation, for solidarity, and for hope. For Africa, this is not merely a policy agenda - it is a call to conscience.

Our continent stands at a crossroads. On one hand, Africa is home to the youngest population on Earth, to vibrant movements of renewal, and to communities rich in resilience and faith. On the other hand, we remain burdened by unjust financial systems, debilitating debt, ecological degradation, and global neglect. This tension defines the African condition in our time: abundance in potential, yet constricted by external rules and internal inequities.

This is why we are gathering in Cape Town this month, together with fellow faith leaders, civil society actors, academic institutions, and policy-makers, under the banner of the G20 Symposium on Global Justice and Solidarity. Our shared goal is to bring Africa's voice - and Africa's soul - into the heart of the G20 agenda. This effort is coordinated under the umbrella of the Solidarity for One Humanity, One Future network.

As Pope Francis consistently reminded us, true global leadership begins not with dominance, but with dialogue. In Fratelli Tutti, he urged us to build "a better kind of politics," one rooted in "social love" and "a sense of belonging to one another." This is not naïve idealism. It is the only path to a sustainable, peaceful, and humane future.

The Moral Cost of Debt

Africa's sovereign debt crisis is not just an economic problem - it is a moral scandal. Today, many African governments spend more servicing debt than on health or education. This is not because African nations are reckless, but because the global financial system is rigged against them. Private creditors charge African nations exorbitant interest rates. Multilateral institutions impose rigid conditions. Meanwhile, the climate crisis - caused largely by the emissions of the Global North - forces African countries to borrow even more just to recover from floods, droughts, and cyclones.

Before his death, Pope Francis also spoke forcefully about this injustice. "The debt should not be paid at the price of unbearable sacrifices," he said in a message to heavily indebted nations. "There is a need for mechanisms to reduce the debt, which do not compromise the development of the poorest." In 2025, as the Church prepares to celebrate the Jubilee Year - a biblical tradition rooted in the forgiveness of debts - we must push the G20 to commit to real debt relief and to the creation of a fair international insolvency framework.

Nourishing Bodies, Empowering Futures

But our message must also be hopeful and constructive. One of the most powerful ideas emerging from our continent is the push for universal school meals. Every child who eats a nutritious meal at school is healthier, learns better, and has a chance to escape poverty. Every local farmer who supplies that food strengthens the local economy. Every woman employed in food preparation or delivery gains dignity and income. School meals are not charity. They are a strategic investment in a more just society.

This is why we support the call, led by Congressman Jim McGovern and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, to make universal school meals a G20 priority. Africa, with its moral authority and its demograp...

In this opinion article, International Finance Corporation (IFC) regional industry director for the infrastructure and natural resources sector in Africa Sarvesh Suri underlines the importance of transmission infrastructure for improving security of supply in Africa. Suri also outlines the IFC's role in advising governments and developers on advancing private-sector-led transmission lines.

The progress in power generation across Africa has been encouraging: 26 GW of renewables-based generation capacity added in the last 10 years, according to the Renewable Energy Market Analysis report.

But millions of people remain in the dark as population growth and electricity demand outpace infrastructure development.

The reason? Stressed public utilities and under-investment in robust transmission networks - that is, the infrastructure that moves electricity from power plants to homes, businesses, and across borders - thereby slowing the delivery of power and limiting the impact of increased generation.

From 2010 to 2020, less than 0.3% of private investment in electricity infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa went to transmission projects, according to the World Bank's Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) database.

In South Africa, for example, a growing pipeline of renewable energy projects means the country must in tandem significantly expand its transmission system and develop a stronger grid.

The government has set a goal to build 14 000 km of new transmission lines by 2032 - an ambitious and critical target.

At IFC, we see the expansion of transmission networks - both national and cross-border - as central to Africa's economic and social development, and central to Mission 300, the World Bank Group and African Development Bank-led initiative to connect 300-million people in Africa to electricity by 2030.

IFC plays a key role in Mission 300 by working with governments on sector and regulatory reforms, mobilising capital and scaling innovative financing for investments in transmission infrastructure, as well as in generation and distribution.

In South Africa, we are supporting reforms to open the energy sector to more investment. With the Presidency, National Treasury, and the Department of Trade and Industry, IFC is providing support to reinvent the country's State-owned power utility, Eskom.

The government plans to split Eskom into three separate companies to oversee energy generation, transmission, and distribution - a critical part of the foundation needed for sustained investment in grid infrastructure.

Meanwhile, cross-border interconnection remains limited across Africa. Without this infrastructure, surplus power in one country cannot be sold to neighbours facing shortages, holding back economic activity, and keeping costs higher than they should be.

Unlike generation, however, where IPPs follow well-established investment models, transmission faces several challenges including regulatory uncertainty, weaker off-takers, and limited frameworks for public-private participation.

For cross-border projects, the challenges are even greater - from harmonising grid codes and aligning tariffs to ensure payment reliability and coordination across multiple jurisdictions. Today, sub-Saharan Africa has less than 170 000 km of transmission lines - one of the lowest per capita rates globally.

The challenge is great, but IFC is helping tackle it head-on.

Our advisory services focus on capacity building through skills and knowledge transfer to governments, private sector, and investors to help establish frameworks for private-sector participation in transmission. Furthermore, tools like credit enhancements help de-risk projects for private investors, ensuring bankability and scalability.

Across ten countries - South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, Uganda, DRC, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ethiopia - IFC is advising governments and developers on advancing private-sector-led transmission lines.

In South Africa, we are working wit...