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The expansion of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) bloc, announced during the fifteenth yearly Brics Summit in August, has raised questions about South Africa's role in the group and whether the perceived spurning of its more traditional allies and trade partners will have adverse effects going forward.

The new members, which have been invited to join from 2024, are Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The general consensus is that the Brics expansion is meant to enhance the group's global influence and aid a transition to a "multipolar world", in part by reducing the dominance of the US dollar.

South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) African Governance and Diplomacy Programme head Steven Gruzd notes that bolstering numbers is a tried-and-true method of expanding clout, noting that both the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation sought to increase membership to elevate their reach and scale of influence.

"The more countries behind you, the louder your voice becomes. So, expansion, in this instance, translates to more political clout. But make no mistake; the Group of Seven States are likely to remain dominant for now, although China is exerting its diplomatic heft to a much greater degree."

Further, the expansion of the Brics market reinforces the group's economic power, "even if it remains a loose club rather than a firm, exclusive alliance". Gruzd adds that the inclusion of several major oil producers and some of the members' geographical importance on major sea lanes, including the Suez Canal, the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb Straits, will "add to the club's overall power".

Gruzd tells Engineering News & Mining Weekly that, while the new entrants want to be part of something "successful, with momentum" and which seems to have an ideological affinity with strengthening a multipolar world, "some tensions will be imported into Brics".

These include issues pertaining to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the resulting "standoff' on the Nile between Ethiopia and Egypt, as well as the Middle Eastern rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia. There is also the continued tension relating to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the escalation of the long simmering Israel-Hamas conflict, as well as friction between India and China on numerous issues.

Gruzd says that the Brics organisation clearly believes that issues between members can be contained or "ever ameliorated"; however, the members' individual relationships with the rest of the global community are trickier to manage, especially when many of the new members, and a significant chunk of the old ones, have been critical of the existing West-orientated world order.

"For example, as international geopolitics becomes an ever-more-complex web, closer relations with Iran through Brics could place strain on South Africa's fragile relations with the US vis-à-vis Ukraine, and now the Israel-Hamas war too. There is much speculation that African Growth and Opportunity Act membership could be in jeopardy, although the South African government has tried to dispel this, including by sending special envoys to Washington.

"International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor visiting Tehran will not be seen as constructive in the West, nor will her telephone calls to Hamas leadership."

He notes that, while the inclusion of Iran may "make things more complicated", South Africa maintaining relationships with 'controversial' countries is nothing new, as it has had strong ties with Iran for decades, including defending it in international fora regarding its nuclear programme and on sanctions.

Gruzd says that the long-term security and trade implications of the Brics expansion are challenging to identify at this stage.

"From a trade perspective, it's hard to tell whether there will be adverse impacts on future trade for South Africa. We needn't see this as a stark 'either or' cho...

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the ongoing delays in the procurement of new electricity generation by the State; the reasons for the delays; and if the procurement model is still fit for purpose.

Eskom has officially started operating the first of eight utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects being introduced as part of Phase 1 of a World Bank-funded programme to add batteries with a combined storage capacity of 199 MW and the ability to discharge 833 MWh of electricity over a minimum of four hours.

The project in question is the 20 MW/100 MWh Hex BESS site, which has been built on Eskom's distribution network in Worcester in the Western Cape using batteries supplied by Hyosung, of South Korea.

It is the first Phase 1 project to be completed, but Eskom distribution group executive Monde Bala tells Engineering News that the seven other projects are all progressing on schedule, despite some initial delays at some sites.

Besides Hex, Phase 1 also comprises the 80 MW/320 MWh Skaapvlei, the 5 MW/30 MWh Graafwater and the 9.5 MW/45 MWh Paleisheuwel sites, also in the Western Cape; the 8 MW/32 MWh Elandskop and 40 MW/160 MWh Pongola projects, in KwaZulu-Natal; the 1.5 MW/6.16 MWh Rietfontein site, in the Northern Cape; and the 35 MW/140 MWh Melkhout site, in the Eastern Cape.

Last year, Eskom indicated that Hyosung and Pinggao, of China, had been awarded several of the Phase 1 projects following a competitive tender and indicated that the awards covered projects with a capital cost of some R4.4-billion.

Eskom and Hyosung officially opened the Hex BESS site on November 9, indicating that the 100 MWh of energy it could supply daily was equivalent to the consumption of a town the size of Mossel Bay, in the Western Cape, for about five hours.

Phase 1 also includes about 2 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, which is being coupled to the Rietfontein project, to help ensure there is electricity for the project to store in a context of chronic supply constraints and Bala reports that Eskom distribution will consider further such couplings in future.

However, he stresses the division, which is currently being separated from generation and transmission, has capital constraints and that its main investment priority remains that of network maintenance and expansion.

It is, thus, considering various alternative funding models for future BESS and/or BESS-plus-renewables deployments, which Bala believes will become increasingly important as more variable renewable electricity is introduced and generation becomes more distributed across the country.

The phase 1 and 2 funding arises from a component of the $3.75-billion World Bank loan of 2010 initially earmarked for a concentrated solar project, which was subsequently replaced by BESS. The costs will be recovered by the tariff, with the BESS costs to be included in future revenue applications to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa.

PHASE 2 ON HOLD FOR NOW

Eskom has also placed Phase 2, through which it aims to introduce a further 144 MW/616 MWh of BESS across four sites, on hold. This, while it clarifies with National Treasury whether BESS projects can be included as part of the capital projects that the distribution business can undertake without breaching the terms of the R254-billion Eskom debt-relief conditions.

Bala is optimistic that permission will be granted and indicated an eagerness to press ahead with the projects at the earmarked sites of Witzenburg and Ashton, in the Western Cape, as well as Cuprum and Kiwano, in the Northern Cape.

He reports that the sites were selected primarily for the potential to use BESS to defer capital expenditure that would otherwise have been required, but says the division is also alive to the various services that BESS can provide to the grid, including ancillary services, such as frequency regulation, voltage support, and reactive power control.

For the Phase 1 projects, including Hex, the BESS will be used to manage peak demand periods (from 05:00 to 09:00 and between 17:00 and 21:00) by discharging stored energy during times of high electricity consumption, and recharging during off-peak periods.

This can redu...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has said the "rampant and unbridled corruption" that has gutted the South African economy over the past few decades was not just a threat to the economy, but also to the very concept of democracy in South Africa.

"If corruption is not arrested or stopped, the greatest damage will not be in the funds that are stolen . . . or the jobs that are lost, it will be in the damaging of our democracy. It will be in making our people have less confidence and have less trust in our democracy," Ramaphosa told delegates at the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council's (NACAC's) National Anti-Corruption Dialogue, in Johannesburg, on November 8.

He was quick to point out his belief that corruption was not a phenomenon unique to the African National Congress' (ANC's) time as the ruling party but that it also prevailed in decades prior under Apartheid rule, which he called both "materially and morally corrupt".

"We must challenge the contention that corruption is a creation of our democracy, because there are people in certain circles believe that this is a new dimension that came post 1994," he said.

He commended the efforts of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, saying that the State capture enquiry was a watershed moment in South African history.

"Not only did the commission lay bare the extent and the depth of state capture and corruption, but it also presented the country with the means to both remedy and deal with corruption, and also to create conditions that would prevent its recurrence," Ramaphosa stated.

He noted, however, that the full impact of State capture was only being manifested now.

"We are having to deal with the fact that the State's criminal justice agencies are debilitated. Many of them were destroyed and we're having to rebuild them. We're having to make sure that they gain more capability," he said.

He said it was the people of South Africa who were the current tools of the integrity of the political, social and economic life of the country.

"After all, it was the people of South Africa in all their various formations who stood up against not only Apartheid, but who also stood up against state capture and who, through their democratic institutions, took action to have a commission established to take action to support the commission that had been established, even against difficult odds," Ramaphosa said.

The President further committed to adequately resourcing the NACAC going forward.

"The criticism that has been leveled against us as government is that we haven't given them enough resources. We will make sure that [NACAC is] properly resourced because we want you to do your work properly. So you will be resourced," he said to the NACAC council members present.

The NACAC multi-sectoral advisory body was appointed by Ramaphosa in August last year to oversee the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) over a three-year term and to advise on the future of the country's anti-corruption institutional architecture.

"Much work has been done to strengthen the ability of our institutions to prevent and combat corruption. Significant progress is being made in bringing to justice those responsible for State capture," he assured delegates.

Ramaphosa said there was a long road but that the fight against corruption was gaining momentum, noting that the anticorruption dialogue underway was a critical part of ensuring that progress continued to be made.

"We want to strengthen the consensus on what is a sustainable anticorruption reform agenda which embraces an all-society or all-government approach. One of the critical success factors recognized internationally in the fight against corruption is the involvement of the people who have to hold their representatives accountable. If we don't get that pillar in place, we w...

On the occasion of celebrating its 100-year anniversary, automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Company South Africa (FMCSA) has announced it will start producing plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) Ranger models at its Silverton, Pretoria, manufacturing facility late next year.

The automaker is investing R5.2-billion in expanding its existing facility to accommodate the new models on the same assembly lines as the diesel and petrol vehicles, and in building a dedicated battery pack assembly facility.

Particularly, the chassis plant will be upgraded to accommodate the unique chassis configuration of the plug-in hybrid Ranger, including changes to the robots, welding equipment, control systems, conveyors and skids.

The PHEV models are destined for export to Europe, Australia and New Zealand, but Ford Middle East & Africa operations VP Ockert Berry is confident that the company will see local uptake of them as well.

He tells Engineering News that, with the South African Ford facilities already being geared up to produce Ranger vehicles, it made sense for the group to expand to PHEV Ranger production.

It will be the first time in two decades that the Silverton plant will be supplying vehicles to the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Berry adds that the plant will initially target production of 30 000 PHEV Ranger units a year and ramp up as required. The plant currently produces about 200 000 vehicles a year, comprising Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok vehicles.

The Ranger PHEV will deliver more torque than any other Ranger, owing to a 2.3-litre Ford EcoBoost turbo petrol engine paired with an electric motor and rechargeable battery system.

It can be driven in pure electric mode for more than 45 km without using a drop of fuel or producing tailpipe emissions.

It will provide all the towing and payload capability customers expect of Ranger, along with Pro Power Onboard for the first time, enabling customers to power their tools and appliances on a worksite or remote campsite by plugging them into power outlets embedded in both the cargo bed and the cabin.

The latest investment in the plant adds to a total R33-billion that FMCSA has invested at its plants in Silverton, and Struanway, in Gqeberha.

Moreover, FMCSA reveals an expanded product range that will be available for purchase in the South African market within the next 18 months, including the all-electric Mustang Mach-E, a seventh-generation Mustang range that will include the most powerful naturally aspirated Mustang to date - the Mustang Dark Horse, an all-new Territory five-seater special utility vehicle and the next-generation Torneo Custom and Transit Custom models.

Additionally, Ford will soon launch two new Ranger models, Tremor and Platinum, made specially for the South African market. The Tremor is a more adventure-oriented Ranger model with added off-road functionality, while the Platinum will comprise ultimate driving comfort features.

"From humble beginnings that established Ford in South Africa in November 1923, our team and facilities here have grown into a world-class operation that delivers the highest-quality vehicles to our customers in South Africa and around the world," says Ford Motor Company chief dealer engagement officer Elana Ford.

As part of the FMCSA centenary celebrations, the company has launched three new community initiatives targeted at maths and science development, early learning development and scholarships.

FMCSA and its project partners are creating 100 maths and science laboratories for primary schools around the country, as well as 100 early childhood development centres, while it will fund 100 youth scholarships to promote learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths.

South Africa is the fourth country across Ford's manufacturing portfolio to have exceeded 100 years of operations, following the US, Canada and Argentina.

The Silverton facility will also celebrate its one-millionth Ranger produced some time nex...

South Africa's Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office has indicated that the procurement documentation for both the next public renewables round and a gas-to-power programme are at an advanced stage but the timing of their release to the market is dependent on the conclusion of "various grid optimisation initiatives", including an updated curtailment framework.

Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa revealed recently that Bid Window Seven (BW7) of the renewables programme had been postponed until December and attributed the rescheduling from an already revised released date of September to delays in finalising an update to the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

In response to questions posed by Engineering News, the IPP Office made no firm commitment regarding the timing of the release of either BW7 or the gas-to-power request for proposals (RfPs). It also made no reference to the IRP update, which would need to be released for public comment once approved for publication by Cabinet.

Instead, the IPP Office told Engineering News that the timing of the programmes was "dependent on the conclusion of various grid optimisation initiatives which are currently under consideration by Eskom and the National Regulator".

"We will communicate to the market as soon as those approvals are granted," the IPP Office said in response to questions.

It also confirmed that the publication of the Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA) on October 31 was insufficient in the absence of an updated curtailment framework.

The GCCA confirmed that curtailment studies had been undertaken to provide the option for developers to connect in grid "constrained areas".

The GCCA indicated that governance within Eskom had been "approved to a large extent" but that a regulatory approval process was required before any of the curtailment results and opportunities could be shared, either "in the next release of the GCCA or possibly sooner in an addendum".

Curtailment involves the active reduction of output from wind and solar plants in response to system security needs or temporary transmission capacity constraints and is widely used by system operators as a cost-effective way to facilitate the introduction of renewable generators.

It has been reported that 10% curtailment could double the grid connection capacity of a province such as the Western Cape, which the GCCA shows as having no available capacity, along with the Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape and the Hydra Central supply area.

The document states that there is 19.4 GW available in the rest of the country, where the wind and solar resources remain strong but less so than in the four areas described as having "depleted" capacity.

The lack of a clear curtailment option also meant that none of the 23 wind projects that bid for a 3.2 GW allocation during BW6 advanced to preferred-bidder status, despite persistent and intensifying loadshedding.

Meanwhile, the IPP Office stressed that a tender for a transaction adviser to evaluate the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) model to improve its cost effectiveness and efficiency would have no impact on the release of any of the RfPs "currently in the pipeline".

Besides BW7 and the gas-to-power programme, work is also well advanced on the second bidding round for battery energy storage, with projects submitted during the first round "in the final stages of evaluation".

The IPP Office said the review of the REIPPPP model could, thus, inform future potential changes to the auction model.

"[The review] also recognises that the energy market and environment in South Africa is changing and that we will need to adapt our systems and processes accordingly."

The IPP Office also confirmed with Engineering News that 12 projects procured across various public programmes, including nine from BW5 with a combined capacity of 1 009 MW and three from the risk mitigation round (150 MW), were currently under construction.

"A furth...

The Energy Regulator has approved six-year negotiated pricing agreements (NPAs) for ferrochrome smelters operated in South Africa by both Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture and Samancor Chrome.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) issued a statement on November 6 confirming NPAs had been approved for four of Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture's ferrochrome operations in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West, as well as for six of Samancor Chrome's smelter operations in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West.

Eskom submitted the applications to the regulator on May 9 in line with the interim long-term NPA framework approved by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in August 2020.

The framework targets large power users with minimum consumption thresholds of 80 GWh and/or load factors greater than 70% and where electricity is a large cost component.

The interim long-term NPA framework aims to incentivise, through discounted tariffs, the retention of operations in strategic sectors that would otherwise be severely curtailed or shut down without discounted rates.

In the past, tariffs have been indexed to the price of the commodity being produced, but it was not immediately clear whether that was the case for the Glencore-Merafe and Samancor Chrome NPAs.

Nersa reported that Eskom will implement separate six-year NPAs for Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture's Boshoek (130 MVA), Wonderkop (310 MVA), Lion (275 MVA) and Lydenburg (165 MVA) operations.

The Samancor Chrome operations, meanwhile, collectively amount to 1 363 MVA, or projected baseload sales of about 7.6 TWh yearly, and include: Ferrometals (270 MVA), Middelburg Ferrochrome (286 MVA), Tubatse Ferrochrome (245 MVA), Tubatse Alloy (220 MVA), TC Smelters (140 MVA) and Dikwena Chrome (202 MVA).

The NPAs could be implemented one full calendar month after Nersa's approval and terminate 72 calendar months thereafter.

Nersa did not provide tariff details but indicated that the NPAs were set at a level to ensure the sustainability of the operations, while covering Eskom's cost of supply.

It also did not confirm whether the agreement included a clause for Eskom to interrupt supply, which is the case with other NPAs.

The State-owned utility, whose tariffs have been rising steeply for several years, has indicated previously that to qualify for an NPA larger consumers need to show that they would not be sustainable on the applicable standard tariff.

Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reports that the next public procurement round for renewable energy, known as Bid Window Seven (BW7), has been delayed until December.

Delivering a briefing on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan amid a resumption of loadshedding, Ramokgopa attributed the postponement directly to the delay in updating the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which he said was now at an "advanced stage" and should be published before the end of November.

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has promised previously that there will be public consultations on the document, which he has termed 'IRP 2023', but has not provided clarity yet on how the drafting process has been managed.

BW7 was initially expected to be released in September, subject to the publication of the Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA) by Eskom.

The GCCA was eventually released on October 31, but absent the results of curtailment studies undertaken to provide the option for developers to connect in grid "constrained areas".

It has been reported that 10% curtailment could double the grid connection capacity of a province such as the Western Cape, which the GCCA shows as having no available capacity, along with the Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape and the Hydra Central supply area.

It states that there is 19.4 GW available in the rest of the country, where the wind and solar resources remain strong but less so than in the four areas described as having "depleted" capacity.

The lack of a clear curtailment option also meant that none of the 23 wind projects that bid for a 3.2 GW allocation during BW6 advanced to preferred-bidder status, despite persistent and intensifying loadshedding.

It is unclear whether the timing of BW7 could also be affected by a tender, issued by the Development Bank of Southern Africa, for a transaction advisor to review the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme and its evaluation model to improve its cost effectiveness and efficiency. The tender closed on November 2.

Meanwhile, Ramokgopa indicated that the 3 GW gas-to-power procurement programme, which was also meant to be released this year, was receiving priority attention within government and the National Energy Crisis Committee.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the US Congress to approve an early and "sufficiently lengthy" extension of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) to provide investors looking to take advantage of the scheme's trade benefits with the certainty they need to "build new factories on the African continent".

Opening the Agoa Forum in Johannesburg on Friday, Ramaphosa also underlined the "great value" of retaining all beneficiary countries to support the development of regional value chains and help industrialisation on the continent.

His address followed confirmation that US President Joe Biden "strongly" supported a reauthorisation of the trade arrangement by Congress beyond its current 2025 expiry, as well as an announcement that Agoa benefits would be terminated on January 1, 2024, for Gabon, Niger, the Central African Republic, and Uganda.

Gabon and Niger's eligibility had been terminated because of "unconstitutional changes of government", while benefits were withdrawn from the Central African Republic and Uganda because of "gross violations of internationally recognised human rights being perpetrated by those governments".

Ahead of the announcement, which included confirmation that Mauritania's eligibility would be reinstated, there were 35 Agoa-eligible countries, against the 49 countries that are potentially eligible for inclusion under the unilateral scheme, which has been in place since 2000.

South Africa's own eligibility was thrown into doubt earlier this year when Ambassador Reuben Brigety alleged in May that South Africa had loaded arms and ammunition on to the sanctioned Russian vessel, the Lady R, in December.

President Cyril Ramaphosa commissioned a panel, led by retired Judge Phineas Mojapelo, to investigate the matter. While only an executive summary of the report was released, indicating the allegations to be incorrect, relations improved to the point where it was confirmed on September 20 that the forum would proceed in Johannesburg.

Ramaphosa said an early reauthorisation and renewal would help to ensure that the legislation achieved its objectives and reached its full potential.

"An early renewal can help to strengthen trade and investment.

"At the same time, we see potential to enhance Agoa with reforms that will add more products and will make it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to use it," Ramaphosa said.

Total goods imports into the US under Agoa recovered to $10-billion in 2022 from $6.8-billion in 2021, and South Africa emerged as the top exporter, with $3.6-billion in exports to the US last year.

In his video address to the forum, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Biden administration did not only want to extend Agoa but work with Congress "to make it even better", without elaborating on any possible improvements.

In her address, US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai argued that "many things have changed" since the establishment of the scheme 23 years ago and suggested that the partnership should be modernised and transformed.

She indicated that discussions should also focus on improving utilisation rates, exploring additional trade tools to complement the Agoa relationship, collaborating on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, and using the multilateral trading system for the benefit of underserved groups.

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has never disguised the fact that he believes that Eskom could be turned around and loadshedding ended if he was made the shareholder Minister responsible for the utility.

Some of his recent remarks likening the resignation of senior executives and nonexecutives at Eskom and Transnet to mice running away from dangerous levels of methane underground suggests that he continues to harbour this view.

While such a remedy may sound logical, it would be a bad response to both poor performance and poor governance at the State-owned enterprises (SOEs), most of which remain in a precarious position despite the board and management changes that have been made in the period following the years of extreme State capture.

The problem with blending policy and shareholder responsibilities is that it creates significant moral hazard, whereby policy decisions can easily be clouded and contaminated by the financial or commercial needs of the SOE directly affected by those decisions.

Whether such hazard will be properly avoided through the State Asset Management holding company proposed in the National State Enterprises Bill is highly debatable. Nevertheless, the principle still holds.

Take electricity, for instance. What is good and progressive policy for an industry experiencing a once-in-a-generation disruption to its business model will not necessarily be in Eskom's commercial interests. In such a context, it's crucial that the policy Minister is free to make decisions in the interest of the sector rather than to allow the SOE tail to wag the legislative and policy dog.

Given the size and influence of an entity such as Eskom, it is only natural for a politician - particularly one who understands power and power relations - to want to control the entity. However, that is to miss the true power that comes from being able to approach policymaking from a position that is entirely unencumbered.

Indeed, if Mantashe really wants to have Eskom scurrying like mice, he could do no better than to focus on the suite of policies under his control and which empower him to dictate the pace not only of Eskom but all participants.

A single-minded pursuit of secure, affordable and cleaner electricity supply for households and industry would empower the Minister to not only shape the long-term legislative framework but also pressurise incumbents and new entrants alike to act in a way that brings the future forward rather than delays the inevitable.

Imagine, for instance, if he used his policymaking prerogative to make it mandatory for Eskom, or the future grid company, to connect new renewables. Overnight, it would shift attention from the current unhelpful fixation on how much renewables South Africa can absorb to what needs to be done to connect them.

Given that variable solar and wind are now indisputably the lowest-cost sources of new electricity and given the country's chronic under-supply, as well as the age of the old coal plants, such a move would be low risk and a welcome gamechanger, with Mantashe as its formidable champion.