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Pan African board approves development of 10 MW solar plant at Elikhulu
Vhutshilo Sydney Nemutshili • Jul 10, 2020
The board of gold-mining company Pan African has approved the development of a 10 MW solar photovoltaic project at the Elikhulu gold-from-tailings operation in Evander, Mpumalanga, the London-, Johannesburg- and now also New York-listed Pan African stated on Friday. Earlier this month, the midtier gold producer announced that it had established a sponsored Level-1 American depository receipt programme on the over-the-counter market in the US with the Bank of New York Mellon being the appointed depository. In doing so, Pan African joined a number of its peers that have successfully implemented an ADR programme that bolsters in London Aim and Johannesburg JSE positions.
Engineering Trends & Insights
Government has now given mining companies the ability to generate 100MW of power. So what happens now? Will the companies use this facility and, if so, how? And what effect will it have? Arguably, the company furthest down the line is gold miner Pan African Resources, which is already close to producing 10MW of solar photovoltaic power at its Evander mine.
Around 17,000MW of renewable energy capacity can be built for the same cost as Eskom’s troubled Medupi and Kusile coal power stations, estimates from energy expert Chris Yelland have shown.
Eskom's winter load shedding is fast approaching its upper forecast limit, with plant breakdowns reducing the utility's capacity by more than 15,000MW on Wednesday morning (09/06/2021).
Seizing green energy opportunities through increased private sector investments can contribute to South Africa's post-Covid-19 recovery, especially considering that the country faces a possible gross domestic product (GDP) contraction of up to 16% in real terms because of local supply and demand effects, suppression in prices and lower exports, .
South Africa already has the abundant supply of resources needed to fuel the alternative energy space, including solar irradiance in the Northern Cape, local minerals that make up key components of energy storage batteries and untapped natural gas pockets.