The Redstone Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Project, South Africa’s largest renewable energy investment to date, has achieved its first debt drawdown.

Construction on the project in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, which falls under the country’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer’s bid window 3.5 that only focused on CSP power, started in May 2021, soon after it achieved financial close.

The plant is expected to start operating by the end of 2023.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is acting as the mandated lead arranger and coordinating bank for the R11.6 billion ($764,63 million) total investment, with a commitment of R2,306bn ($151,95m).

The project has also secured financing from international and South African financial institutions including ABSA Bank, CDC Group, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) Investec Bank, Nedbank Limited, Sanlam Limited and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa.

Redstone CSP is led by Saudi developer/investor ACWA Power which is also the lead shareholder in the project with co-shareholders including the Central Energy Fund, Pele Green Energy and the local community.

A Task Force established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has arrived in Japan to review the safety of the planned release of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station.

The Task Force will hold technical discussions in Tokyo and visit the site to observe the handling of the water now stored in tanks.

The Government of Japan announced its basic policy last year to gradually discharge the treated water into the sea.

It requested the IAEA’s assistance to ensure it occurs in line with international safety standards and without harming public health or the environment. To this end, the Task Force will be in the country from 14-18 February.

The team comprises staff members from IAEA departments and laboratories, as well as eleven independent, internationally recognized experts with diverse technical competencies, according to IAEA.

On the last day of the visit, Lydie Evrard, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, will address the media at a virtual press conference to discuss progress and findings.

The Task Force members will serve in their individual professional capacities and will report to Director-General Grossi. The findings from each mission will be published and compiled into a full report.

According to the IAEA, water from the Fukushima nuclear power station is treated through a process called “Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove radionuclides except for tritium and then stored at the site.

The recent conversion of DEWA’s Hassyan Power Complex from clean coal to gas will add 1,200MW to Dubai’s capacity.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) will add a total of 1,200MW to Dubai’s grid via an Independent Power Producer (IPP) agreement.

According to the utility, an additional 600MW will be added in Q4 of 2022 and another 600MW by Q3 of 2023, raising the capacity of the Hassyan Power Complex, which has been converted recently to run only on natural gas instead of clean coal, to 2,400MW.

The Hassyan Power Complex was initially designed and built-for-purpose as a dual-fuel plant with the ability to operate full-time on both natural gas and clean coal. It now relies only on natural gas.

In a release from DEWA, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, said this adds to the Jebel Ali Power Plant and Water Desalination Complex as one of the key pillars to providing Dubai with quality electricity and water services reliability and efficiency.

Jebel Ali’s production capacity is 9,547MW, with DEWA’s total production capacity now 13,417MW, which includes 1,527MW of renewable energy using photovoltaic solar panels from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

The Hassyan Power Complex also includes a water desalination project with a production capacity of 120 million imperial gallons per day using reverse osmosis (RO) and utilises an Independent Water Producer model.

New RO stations are currently underway, as they use less energy compared to Multi-Stage Flash, which makes it the best option for water desalination.

Italian power company Ansaldo Energia has been awarded a 20-year maintenance contract for the gas turbines at the 6th October power plant in Cairo, Egypt.

The 1518.5MW plant is owned by Cairo Electricity Production Company and consists of an open cycle and a combined cycle phase.

Each of the two phases is equipped with four AE 94.2 gas turbines built at the Ansaldo Energia site in Genoa.

The new turnkey long term service agreement will cover all eight turbines and will replace the expiring frame service agreements currently in place.

“Service is a strategic asset for Ansaldo Energia, strengthening long term relationships with key customers and paving the road to keep enhancing our products,” said Giuseppe Marino, CEO of Ansaldo Energia.

The new service agreement will provide for parts supply, maintenance activities, repair of vanes, spare parts, and instrumentation, as well as staff training.