The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has awarded a technical assistance grant to South Africa’s state-owned electric utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd, to explore innovative technologies that can transform power delivery to millions of South Africans. The goal of the assistance is to increase the transmission grid’s capacity to absorb new, renewable sources of energy generation and reduce the frequency of power cuts across the country. Eskom selected Idaho-based POWER Engineers, Inc., to conduct the technical assistance.
The technical assistance will explore three distinct areas of technology that are critical near-term priorities for South Africa’s grid: artificial intelligence tools for system stability, energy storage systems and market modeling for cross-border energy trading structures. The technical assistance will assess the applicability and effectiveness of each technology and approach in South Africa.
U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety II, said: “Supporting Eskom’s transmission grid is one of the key priorities of the South African government in the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan, and today the U.S. government is here to deliver on that priority. The U.S. Mission in South Africa is committed to building stronger ties between South Africa and the United States. U.S. agencies like USTDA help promote increased trade that leads to prosperity for both of our nations.”
In addition to the Just Energy Transition Partnership, USTDA’s grant also advances the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, Prosper Africa, and Power Africa initiatives, as well as USTDA’s Global Partnership for Climate-Smart Infrastructure.
