Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has announced 8 preferred bidders for the procurement of the 2000 MW Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Programme.
Mantashe says the first power by these bidders should be connected to the grid from August 2022 if they are to urgently help alleviate the country’s electricity supply constraints.
Mantashe says South African entity participation in the project is 51% with black ownership of 41%.
The electricity will come from wind, solar, natural gas and coal.
Eskom is currently implementing stage 2 load shedding. South Africa’s economy needs a regular and adequate power supply if it is to grow faster than the country’s population.
Addressing the media in Pretoria, Mantashe says the evaluation process has resulted in the selection of eight preferred bids, totalling 1 845 MW and a further three eligible bids totalling 150 MW.
He says the 2000 MW Programme is expected to create 3 800 job opportunities.
“One is Aqua Power Projects DAO, second is Car Powership SA Kuga, Key Powership Saldana. Molelo Total Kuga, Molelo Total Hiddle Storage, Oya Energy Hybrid Facility, Umoye Langa Hybrid Facility. Those are the eight preferred bidders.”
Mantashe says the request for proposal for the procurement of 2 600 MW IPP procurement bid window five will be released.
“Many people have been complaining that where is bid window five…Of the 2 600 MW from bid window five, 1 600 MW will be from wind and 1 000 will be from Solar PV. Given the energy challenges that we are facing, the objective is to get these projects connected to the grid as soon as possible.”
Chris Yelland is Managing Director at EE Business Intelligence and an Energy expert:
Review licence
The Minister says his Department is working on reviewing the licensing threshold for an increased embedded generation.
“That threshold will increase from 1 MW to 10 MW. But it is important to note that for people who want to do self-generation or own use, you don’t need a licence and there’s no limit. What triggers the requirement for licence in connection to the grid and trading with you surplus energy capacity.”
Mantashe says four more requests for proposals will be issued in the next 12 months.
Minister Gwede Mantashe briefs media on latest developments in energy sector:
