Why The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Creating A Surge In Renewable Energy

“The one renewable source of energy that the IEA doesn’t expect to grow this year is biofuels, because of the downturn in public transport.” King’s Cross station in London is usually enveloped in pollution, especially during the evening rush hour. Not yesterday. One of the few silver linings of the coronavirus cloud for city dwellers worldwide has been the improvement in the environment. And as carbon emissions are set to decline by almost 8% this year, demand for renewable energy has surged. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), measures in place in almost every country…

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How the Coronavirus Pandemic Has Disrupted the Global Mining Industry

Some have called the COVID-19 crisis a black swan event. It has had an extreme impact and the world was unprepared for what has transpired, even though, in hindsight, it was not unexpected. The mining industry has also been caught up in the turmoil. While previous global economic downturns hold clues as to what will happen next, there are several aspects to this crisis without similarities to the other economic collapses that have affected the mining industry. A mining downturn like no other Mining industry downturns are usually due to…

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Namdock’s fabrication expertise helps Walvis Bay hospital get ‘ship-shape’ and ready to combat COVID-19

Established Namibian ship repair company Namdock, situated in Walvis Bay on the west coast of Africa, has the health and well-being of its valued staff, community, clients and suppliers at heart during this extraordinarily challenging and uncertain time. “While national infection rates and fatalities are currently low, COVID-19 has the potential to trigger a major health crisis in Namibia. We have already seen the global impact of the virus, and have taken the approach that ‘forewarned is forearmed’. For the sake of all those affected, everyone needs to proactively seek…

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Namdock brings ballast water treatment systems on board for international shipping sector

Namdock, an established ship repair company strategically located on the west coast of Africa in Walvis Bay, Namibia, is leading the industry with the provision of a ballast water treatment system installation service. This ensures that offshore support and other vessels docking for repairs by Namdock are also able to comply with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) requirements for ballast water management and treatment. This is according to Claus Zeilinger, Assistant Technical Superintendent of Carpentry and Electrical at Namdock. “We have led the ship repair market on the West coast…

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Navigating a steady course : Namdock announces Covid-19 lockdown measures

The current COVID-19 pandemic has impacted organisations on both a global and local scale. Astute governments, as well as public and private sector organisations worldwide, are adapting at a rapid rate to mitigate the health and economic impacts of the Novel Coronavirus. Established ship repair and wholly Namibian-owned company Namdock, strategically located on the west coast of Africa in Walvis Bay, has the health and wellbeing not only of  its local and international client and supplier base, but also of the Namibian people at heart during this extraordinarily challenging and…

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Young leaders from Canada, Fiji, Pakistan, Uganda win Commonwealth Youth Awards 2020

Four outstanding young people have won Commonwealth Youth Awards for innovative projects that are delivering sustainable development in their countries. The awards recognise exceptional contributions by young people whose ventures are helping their countries achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The regional award winners are: Africa and Europe: Brian Galabuzi Kakembo, Uganda, turning plastics into eco-friendly briquettes (focus on SDG 8: decent work and economic growth) Asia: Hafiz Usama Tanveer, Pakistan, bringing clean water to poor communities (focus on SDG 6: clean water and sanitation) The Caribbean and Canada: Sowmyan Jegatheesan,…

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S.African rand falls as Moody’s cuts growth forecast, stocks firm

(Reuters) – South Africa’s rand weakened on Monday, as ratings agency Moody’s cut its forecast for the country’s economic growth due to lacklustre private sector demand at home and power cuts. As of 1510 GMT, the rand ZAR=D3 was 0.4% weaker at 15.00 against the dollar. Moody’s cut its 2020 GDP growth forecast to 0.7% from a forecast of 1.5% set in September, due in part to the detrimental impact of widespread power outages on manufacturing and mining activity. Moody’s is the last of the major international agencies to keep an investment grade rating…

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Moody’s cuts South Africa’s 2020 GDP growth forecast to 0.7%

(Reuters) – Ratings agency Moody’s has cut its 2020 growth forecast for South Africa to 0.7%, saying the economy remained stuck in low gear due to lacklustre private sector demand at home. Moody’s, which in September had foreseen growth of 1.5%, also attributed the downgrade to the detrimental impact of widespread power outages on manufacturing and mining activity, it said in a research report released on Monday. State-owned utility Eskom produces more than 90% of South Africa’s electricity, but its ailing fleet of coal-fired plants have struggled to keep up with demand,…

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The US has just dealt a major blow to South Africa – and another one might be on the way

The Trump administration is changing a key exemption to America’s trade laws to make it easier to penalise about two dozen developing countries including China, India and South Africa. The announcement means that South Africa has effectively been removed from a list of nations that can receive preferential trade benefits and is now likely to attract higher import duties and levies to the US market. It may also see the manufacturing sector losing billions of rand in revenue. Speaking to IOL, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) said the move was…

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A new smart and safe way to monitor powertrain equipment in hazardous areas

Operators can carry out remote real-time health checks on powertrain equipment in hazardous areas with  ABB Ability™ Smart Sensors that offer improved analytics, functionality and communications.  ABB will launch its Smart Sensor for rotating machines operating in hazardous areas at Hannover Messe 2020, the leading international technology fair.   It further extends the existing scope of applications for ABB Smart Sensors with a new generation design for powertrains in hazardous areas. Chemical and oil and gas customers can now benefit from cost-efficient condition monitoring in a wide variety of applications. …

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