MOROCCO: ALLIANCE FOR
RENEWABLES
Morocco is set to benefit from new hydroelectric energy projects.
China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and
the Moroccan company, Platinum Power, are partnering up to
develop renewable energy projects on the African continent.
South Africa’s Mineral and Resource Energy Minister, Gwede Mantahse.
This new partnership opens with a 108 MW hydroelectric
project in central Morocco. The construction of this power plant
under a public-private partnership (PPP) will be carried out by
Platinum Power and China First Highway Engineering Company
(CFHEC), a subsidiary of CCCC. It represents an investment of
USD300-million. new to our economy, yet with great potential to grow GDP,
contribute to the fiscus and create much needed jobs’.
SA NEEDS PREDICTABLE
POLICY To mitigate the impact of rising electricity prices on the cost
of doing business in South Africa, greater use of natural gas is
being explored, the minister said.
A stable, predictable policy and regulatory framework must be
created that will lead to investment and growth in South Africa’s
energy sector, says the country’s Mineral Resources and Energy
Minister, Gwede Mantashe.
Mantashe recently delivered his first energy budget speech in
Parliament since the merging of his mineral resources portfolio
with that of energy, following South Africa’s general election in
May this year.
Announcing a budget of R7.44-billion for energy, Mantashe noted
that the sector had contributed negatively to overall economic
growth in the first quarter of 2019, declining by 6.9% and making
a 0.1% contribution to an overall GDP decline of 3.2%.
“Despite the present economic climate and stringent allocations,
we must ascertain a secure and sustainable provision of energy,”
he said.
“In this context, [we must] utilise diverse energy resources
in sustainable quantities at affordable prices, and mindful of
environmental requirements, to support economic growth and
development.”
Mantashe said work is underway to develop the Petroleum
Resources Development Bill ‘to ensure we provide policy
certainty for the upstream petroleum sector that is relatively
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The Gas Amendment Bill, he said, intends to leverage
available gas resources such as those in the Karoo and the
recent discoveries in the Brulpadda field, assisting in the
implementation of gas-to-power projects.
While most of the country’s current supply of natural gas is from
imports via the pipeline of the Mozambique Pipeline Investment
Company (ROMPCO), more economical options need to be
explored, including acceleration of South Africa’s own natural
gas exploration activities.
In the meantime, Mozambique will be engaged in the possibility
of increasing and extending the supply of gas beyond 2023,
and the importation of liquified natural gas (LNG) via the Coega
Industrial Development Zone will be implemented.
INVESTING IN
INFRASTRUCTURE
In a recent Q&A with Africa Oil and Power, CEO of African
Investment Managers (AIIM), Jurie Swart, says the continent has
made huge strides in infrastructure investment.
Has AIIM always been involved in the energy sector?
AIIM’s original business started life by financing toll roads in
South Africa. In later years we started looking at the energy
market in South Africa. One part of this market that has done
particularly well in the last five or six years has been renewable
energy. It’s been a remarkable growth story, and with our latest
new solar and wind farm projects, we estimate that AIIM has
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