Rooftop solar
Rooftop solar installations surged on news that the City of Cape Town would buy power from individual households. Africa’s transition from oil and coal to greener technologies is not straightforward; it comes as a mixture of grants, risk-sharing instruments and concessional finance but it will allow South Africa to fund projects that will help the country to move away from fossil fuels without further stretching Eskom’s precarious finances. Eskom made a breakthrough in December 2022 when South Korean company Hyonsung Heavy Industries broke ground at Elandskop signalling the first project in Eskom’s Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project. The 8MW facility will move to producing an additional 144MW in the second stage of the project. In 2023, a larger project at Worcester, Hex BESS, was launched. Another company that will be involved in Phase 1 of the national rollout of these projects is Chinese company Pinggao. In Cape Town a Swedish firm has spent -million setting up an assembly factory for lithium batteries and Bushveld Energy, a subsidiary of Bushveld Minerals, is producing vanadium battery electrolyte at its factory in East London. An Eastern Cape project involving nascent local utility Earth & Wire expects to start delivering batteries in the first half of 2024. US firm Ambri has the contract to deliver a 300MW/1 200 MWh battery system for a combined wind and solar system near Humansdorp. Traditional sectors Gold mining is declining in volumes (even while prices rise), platinum group metals (PGM) prices have gone off the highs experienced during and immediately after Covid, but major activity is still underway in the sector. Vedanta Zinc International’s project in the Northern Cape may the catalyst for the establishment of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and an uptick in other mining investment. Already, copper mines in that province are being revived. Sibanye-Stillwater, which quickly became a major player in PGMs, continues to acquire assets in the green metals and processing cluster while Afrimat, best known for many years for concrete and construction materials, has built up a much more varied portfolio by buying mines in three provinces. In June 2023 it went back to its roots in a sense: the company’s Construction Materials division was enlarged by the purchase of Lafarge South Africa Holdings. The biggest mining news in 2023 was that De Beers Venetia Diamond Mine started producing. This long-term conversion project of the mine to an underground mine will extend its life to 2045 and perhaps beyond. Grain crops such as maize, wheat, barley and soya beans are among the country’s most important crops. Only rice is imported. Wine, corn and sugar are other major exports. Basing economic growth on a devaluing currency is not the best long-term method of boosting economic growth, but high-value agricultural exports and increased numbers of high-spending international tourists hold some promise for helping to get the South African economy back on a growth path. ■ SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2024 14 PHOTO: Versofy Solar
WWW.NORTHERNCAPEBUSINESS.CO.ZA JOIN S ONLINE US ONLINE WWW.GLOBALAFRICANETWORK.COM | WWW.NORTHERNCAPEBU | | 10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD INVEST IN SOUTH AFRICA 01. HOT EMERGING MARKET Growing middle class, affluent consumer base, excellent returns on investment. 02. MOST DIVERSIFIED ECONOMY IN AFRICA South Africa (SA) has the most industrialised economy in Africa. It is the region’s principal manufacturing hub and a leading services destination. LARGEST PRESENCE OF MULTINATIONALS ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT SA is the location of choice of multinationals in Africa. 03. Global corporates reap the benefits of doing business in SA, which has a supportive and growing ecosystem as a hub for innovation, technology and fintech. 05. FAVOURABLE ACCESS TO GLOBAL MARKETS ADVANCED FINANCIAL SERVICES & BANKING SECTOR SA has a sophisticated banking sector with a major footprint in Africa. It is the continent’s financial hub, with the JSE being Africa’s largest stock exchange by market capitalisation. The African Continental Free Trade Area will boost intra-African trade and create a market of over one billion people and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of USD2.2-trillion that will unlock industrial development. SA has several trade agreements in place as an export platform into global markets. 07. YOUNG, EAGER LABOUR FORCE 09. SA has a number of world-class universities and colleges producing a skilled, talented and capable workforce. It boasts a diversified skills set, emerging talent, a large pool of prospective workers and government support for training and skills development. 04. 06. 08. PROGRESSIVE CONSTITUTION & INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY SA has a progressive Constitution and an independent judiciary. The country has a mature and accessible legal system, providing certainty and respect for the rule of law. It is ranked number one in Africa for the protection of investments and minority investors. ABUNDANT NATURAL RESOURCES SA is endowed with an abundance of natural resources. It is the leading producer of platinum-group metals (PGMs) globally. Numerous listed mining companies operate in SA, which also has world-renowned underground mining expertise. WORLD-CLASS INFRASTRUCTURE AND LOGISTICS A massive governmental investment programme in infrastructure development has been under way for several years. SA has the largest air, ports and logistics networks in Africa, and is ranked number one in Africa in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index. 10. SA offers a favourable cost of living, with a diversified cultural, cuisine and sports offering all year round and a world-renowned hospitality sector. EXCELLENT QUALITY OF LIFE Page | 2 719 SOUTH SOUTH AFRICAN AFRICAN BUSINESS BUSINESS 20232020
