[img:Syanda.thumbnail.jpg|Syda Bbumba,
Uganda's finance
minister]27 July 2010 - The Ministry of Energy is to start implementation of a new rural electrification project in March 2011, officials have said.

This follows the signing of a US$10million loan agreement between the government and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) in Kampala last week.

[img:BM_Mark.thumbnail.jpg|Mark Tanton,
Chairperson,
SAWEA]26 July 2010 - The government's integrated resource plan (IRP), expected to be released in September, has had little input from consumer groups and civil society.

This was one of the few points that delegates at a conference on renewable energy could agree on. A heated argument over South Africa's energy mix erupted on Thursday as various interests lobbied for preference in the government's long-term plan.

[img:Ryan%20Hammond_0.jpg|Ryan Hammond,
Managing Director,
Solaire Direct SA]26 July 2010 - Solaire Direct SA managing director Ryan Hammond believes it's only a matter of three years before renewable energy becomes cheaper than traditional fossil fuel electricity.

French solar technology group Solaire Direct is one of many new entrants into the power industry awaiting the outcome of the Department of Energy's integrated resource plan in the coming few months.

[img:SPM1_0.JPG| ]SPM is a leading service provider in providing turnkey primary plant services to the electricity supply industry and industrial customers. Services provided by SPM include the transportation, installation, testing and commissioning of HV circuit breakers and power transformers. 

Increasing electricity tariffs and the increasing energy efficiency focus in South Africa and the introduction of smart metering, has provided an ideal opportunity for SPM to increase its service offerings. In this regard, SPM is entering into a partnering with ZERA from Germany, a leader in the production and supply of test equipment for portable and stationery meter testing.

[img:June%202%202008%20Pic%2033_0.jpg| ]23 July 2010 - The South African Wind Energy Association (Sawea) on Thursday said that information from wind energy project developers in South Africa showed that 6 000 MW of wind energy was "ready to be commissioned right now".

Developers were, however, waiting for the power purchase agreements (PPAs) under the renewable energy feed-in tariff (Refit), as they could not take a project to a bankable stage unless they had a power offtake agreement in place.

[img:eskom.thumbnail.jpg| ]23 July 2010 - A fully ring-fenced Independent Systems and Market Operator (ISMO) entity would be established within Eskom's Systems Operations and Planning Division by the end of August, an Eskom official said on Thursday.

Eskom Single Buyer Office representative Adele Greyling explained that this was the first phase of the establishment of the interim ISMO, and would ring-fence finances and governance, while the second phase would seek to establish a fully independent ISMO.

[img:Thackwray_Driver_0.jpg|Thackwray Driver,
CEO, Energy Chamber]23 July 2010 - Uganda, like many other countries in Africa, faces a lack of sufficient electricity generation and this is now a major priority for Uganda.  This was told to a T&T energy trade mission, led by Thackwray Driver, chief executive officer of the Energy Chamber, now visiting East Africa.

[img:go-green_0.jpg| ]21 July 2010 - SA should introduce a carbon tax, and enforce other environmental taxes, according to this year's Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) survey released yesterday. SA, despite its status as a developing country, has relatively high emissions, both in absolute terms and per capita.

The International Energy Agency ranked SA as the 18th largest emitter of CO2 from fuel consumption, ahead of countries such as Spain and the Netherlands. Despite high poverty levels, SA's emissions per capita were at least 11 tons per person. Government had made a conditional commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2020, and 42% by 2025.