[South Africa plans to add 8GW a year to the grid] On June 2, 2023, South Africa's current rollout of solar and wind power to increase the share of solar and wind in the country's energy mix from 7% to 40% by 2030 is the fastest way out of the electricity crisis, according to the South African Presidency's Climate Commission (PCC). It is also the cheapest option to build the energy sector South Africa needs to stick to its global climate commitments. The PCC, which was set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2020 to advise on issues such as a just energy transition, released a set of recommendations on electricity planning in South Africa on June 1. The PCC said South Africa aimed to solve its power crisis by integrating at least 8GW of wind and solar power into the grid annually over the next two to four years. About 2.5GW of new renewable energy projects are now registered with South Africa's national energy regulator. Experience shows that this target is achievable in the first three months of 2023. Ultimately, South Africa will need to add 50 to 60Gw of renewable energy by 2030. Steve Nicholls, head of mitigation issues at the PCC and climate change adviser at the National Business Initiative, said this would take the share of renewables in South Africa's energy mix to about 40 per cent. According to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, coal-fired power will account for around 80% of electricity generation by 2022, with renewables (excluding hydropower) accounting for 7%. Editor/Xu Shengpeng

Click to see more live >>

• 2026.07.16 16:11
• [The first deep-sea intelligent submarine cable ship is put into operation]
• On July 15, 2026, the first deep-sea and intelligent submarine cable construction ship "Tianyi Navigator" designed and built by China was officially listed in Shanghai. The captain is 116 meters long, with a full load displacement of 18000 tons. The cable hold can carry 8000 tons of submarine optical cables, ranking first in the world. Equipped with 5.5-meter submarine cable burial equipment, it can operate at depths of up to 1000 meters, breaking the domestic depth record. Integrating Beidou and GPS dual-mode positioning, equipped with an intelligent dynamic positioning system, stable operation can still be achieved under level 5 sea conditions. The ship will be involved in the construction of submarine cables between global computing hubs, supporting AI computing scheduling and deployment of underwater data centers, and becoming an important equipment support for China's computing infrastructure.Editor/Cheng Liting

• 2026.07.16 14:55
• [Petrochemical Machinery Hydrogen Energy Innovation Park starts construction]
• On July 15, 2026, the Shuzhi Hydrogen Energy Machinery Innovation Park started construction in Dongxihu District, Wuhan, with an expansion of 120 acres. The total investment has not been disclosed, and the plan is to form an annual production capacity of 100 sets of hydrogen compressor sleds, 1GW PEM electrolysis cells, and 1.75GW ALK electrolysis cells for assembly and testing. The previous 55 acres of the park have been put into use as a data intelligence service center and a hydrogen production and refueling equipment quality inspection center. The new park covers the entire chain of research and development, intelligent manufacturing, and testing, deeply integrating AI and digital twin technologies. This move marks the official launch of the construction of China Petrochemical's hydrogen energy equipment industry cluster. Editor/Cheng Liting