Name and Location
Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) – fourth window, nationwide, South Africa.

Client
Department of Energy (DoE).

Project Description
Thirteen projects were accepted in the DoE’s fourth bidding window of the REIPPPP in April this year.

The 13 projects, which will constitute 1 121 MW of installed capacity on the national grid, were selected from a tightly contested field of 77 proposals.

The preferred bidders include one biomass project, five wind farm projects, six solar photovoltaic (PV) projects and one hydro project. The biomass project named was the 25 MW Ngodwana Energy Project.

The wind projects include:
• Roggeveld Wind Farm (140 MW)
• Karusa Wind Farm (140 MW)
• Nxuba Wind Farm (139 MW)
• Golden Valley Wind Farm (117 MW)
• Oyster Bay Wind Farm (140 MW).

The wind projects represent a combined capacity of 676 MW.

The solar PV projects include:
• Sirius Solar PV Project One (75 MW)
• Droogfontein 2 Solar (75 MW)
• Dyason’s Klip 1 (75 MW)
• Dyason’s Kilp 2 (75 MW)
• Konkoonsies II Solar Facility (75 MW)
• Aggeneys Solar Project (40 MW).

The combined capacity of the solar PV projects that progressed to the preferred-bidder stage was 415 MW.

The 5 MW Kruisvallei Hydro was selected as the only hydro project for this round.

In June this year, the DoE added another 13 solar PV and wind projects to the 13 projects selected in April under the fourth bid window. The additional bidders will add another 1 084 MW to the grid.

The additional bid-window-four projects include seven onshore wind and six solar PV developments.

The wind projects include:
• Soetwater Wind Farm (139 MW)
• Kangnas wind project (137 MW)
• Perdekraal East Wind Farm (108 MW)
• Excelsior wind energy facility (32 MW)
• Wesley-Ciskei project (33 MW)
• Copperton Wind Farm (102 MW)
• Garob Wind Farm (136 MW).

The solar PV projects include:
• Solar Capital Orange project (75 MW)
• De Wildt solar project (50 MW)
• Bokamoso solar project (68 MW)
• Zeerust development (75 MW)
• Greefspan PV Power Plant Number Two solar park (55 MW)
• Waterloo solar park (75 MW).

Value
The successful fourth-round bids are valued at an estimated R23-billion.

The projects are expected to reach financial close in the fourth quarter of this year.

Duration
Commissioning of the projects is expected to start in November 2016.

Latest Developments
Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson has indicated that a request for further proposals will be released to secure an additional 1 800 MW on an accelerated, or expedited, programme. Bidding will be open, but not exclusively so, to unsuccessful bidders from all previous bid windows and once the mop-up processes have been completed, the tender documentation will be redesigned ahead of a fifth bid submission phase.

Meanwhile, renewable-energy development company SunEdison will provide 371 MW of electricity to the local grid through five solar PV projects, following the selection of preferred bidders for 13 more projects in the fourth bid round of the REIPPPP.

Further, a consortium led by global wind and solar company Mainstream Renewable Power has been awarded preferred bidder status by the DoE for two large-scale wind energy projects with a total generation capacity of 250 MW under the fourth round of the REIPPPP, representing an investment of about R5.9-billion.

The DoE has not yet released the date for financial close.

The declaration of the 140 MW Kangnas Wind Farm, in the Northern Cape, and the 110 MW Perdekraal East Wind Farm, in the Cape Winelands, are expected to contribute power to the grid by 2017.

In addition, the 33 MW Wesley-Ciskei wind project, selected recently as part of the enlarged fourth bid window, will be the first to be developed in partnership with landowners and farmers in the former Ciskei Homeland area, in the Eastern Cape.

The project will be jointly developed by not-for-profit organisation Just Energy, initially established by the Bank of America Foundation and Oxfam, and InnoWind, a subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles, of France.

The project, which is expected to be operational towards the end of 2017, will feature ten wind turbines.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
G7 Renewable Energies, BioTherm, Scatec Solar and Enel Green Power.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
DoE spokesperson Thandiwe Maimane, tel +27 12 406 7470, fax +27 86 615 6949 or email MediaDesk@energy.gov.za.
G7 Renewabale Energies, tel +27 21 300 0610, fax +27 86 514 1735 or email info@g7energies.com.
BioTherm, tel +27 11 367 4600.
Scatec Solar CEO Raymond Carlsen, tel +47 454 11 280 or email raymond.carlsen@scatecsolar.com.
Enel Green Power media relations, tel +39 06 8305 1, fax +39 06 8305 3771 or email ufficiostampa@enel.com.