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First Solar gearing up for SA’s next renewables bid window

First Solar gearing up for SA’s next renewables bid window

Photo by First Solar

8th May 2013

By: Terence Creamer

Creamer Media Editor

  

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Thin-film photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer and solar project developer First Solar, of the US, is preparing a number of projects for submission during the third bid window under South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

Regional director Johan Cilliers, who joined the group at the end of last year, having worked previously for General Electric, Siemens and Eskom, tells Engineering News Online that it currently has a pipeline of potential Southern Africa projects collectively representing 1 000 MW of capacity.

These are at various stages of development, with the most advanced projects, which range in size, being prepared for the August 19 bid-submission deadline in South Africa. Cilliers is coy, however, in disclosing the sites, saying only that they are all in close proximity to existing grid connections.

Under the current schedule, third-window preferred bidders should be named by October 29, while the power purchase, connection, direct and implementation agreements should be finalised on July 30, 2014.

A request for proposals (RFP) issued in early May indicated that solar PV has been allocated 400 MW of capacity during the third bid window, with a price cap of R1.40/kWh.

Cilliers expects intense rivalry for the solar PV allocation, noting that there are believed to be bid-ready projects collectively representing about 2 000 MW of potential capacity.

For this reason, First Solar, which did not participate during the first two bid windows, is considering the submission of a number of bids for both large-scale and medium-sized projects.

Business development manager Laura Luckhurst explains that the technology and project installation execution for its cadmium telluride solution is optimised for ground-mounted projects larger than 5 MW, through the installation of repeatable 1.5 MW “blocks”. Its largest installations under construction are the Topaz and the Desert Sunlight solar farms, in California, which are both 550 MW in size.

Luckhurst adds that the modular, ground-mounted design is also attuned to being brought on in phases, which enables the project to begin generating electricity and revenue during the construction phase.

The group currently has an installed base of 7 000 MW and a contracted pipeline of nearly 3 000MW across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and manufacturing facilities in the US and Malaysia.

Cilliers reports that the group is impressed by the certainty that has been provided by South Africa’s REIPPPP, notwithstanding its rigorous localisation, black economic–empowerment (BEE) and community involvement stipulations.

While the panels will be imported from either Malaysia or the US, he says its proposed projects should comfortably clear the localisation thresholds outlined in the RFP.

First Solar South Africa is also pursuing a group-level BEE deal, while its projects will include both BEE and community-level ownership.

In fact, First Solar strategy is not to maintain equity ownership over the long term, specialising instead across the value chain including panel manufacturing, as well as on project identification, engineering, procurement, construction, and operations and maintenance.

Research and development is another core competence, with its black, thin-film glass panels differing materially from the more typical crystalline-silicon panels used on other PV projects.

Cilliers reports that, besides the opportunities presented by the REIPPPP, the company is also developing a pipeline of utility-scale commercial prospects in South Africa, as well as a further 500 MW of potential capacity in the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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