Sapvia CEO Moeketsi Thobela
The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (Sapvia) newly appointed CEO, Moeketsi Thobela, says he is hoping to raise the profile of solar PV as a solution to South Africa’s immediate electricity crisis, owing to the fact that the technology can be deployed rapidly and at increasingly competitive prices.
In an interview with Engineering News Online following his October 1 appointment, Thobela, who is an electrical engineer by training, indicated that he would continue to lobby for a larger role for solar PV in South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which is currently being updated.
He sees particular value in accelerating and upscaling the roll-out of solar PV in the coming three to five years – a period during which South Africa’s is expected to continue to experience supply shortages.
The 2010 IRP envisages the introduction of 8 400 MW of solar PV by 2030, but Thobela, who has been active in the energy sector for 18 years, believes it is in South Africa’s interest to materially increase that allocation.
Besides falling prices and rapid deployment, one of his key arguments is South Africa’s solar resource is such that PV farms can be distributed more or less across the country, including on rooftops. Such de-concentration could have several positive spin-offs; not least being the likelihood that projects can be located in areas where there are lower grid-connection constraints.
Risks associated with grid connectivity are rising for renewable-energy independent power producers (IPPs), with Eskom having confirmed that the “low-hanging fruit” with regards connectivity has been picked following the first three bid windows under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
The State-owned utility will consider ‘self-build’ solutions on a case-by-case basis, but the cost sharing and ownership framework remains vague.
A Sapvia subcommittee is working on a range of possible remedies and Thobela says he is keen to be part of future engagements with the Department of Energy (DoE) and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa to work on a more sustainable and transparent framework.
In the context of Eskom Transmission being the custodian of an open-access network, the framework will need to assess whether build-operate-and-transfer models can be introduced in a way that balances the immediate goal of IPP access with long-term network openness.
But a formula also has to be found to ensure fair and transparent cost recovery for those developers that invest in transmission infrastructure that is not dedicated to their specific project.
Thobela says he is also keen to increase Sapvia’s involvement in defining the best way to pursue localisation opportunities for solar PV – an aspiration that, at times, conflicts with the REIPPPP’s desired for lower prices and more rapid project deployment.
Minimum local content thresholds have risen from 35% in the first REIPPPP bid window to 45% in bid window three, but government has set an aspirational target of above 65%.
Discussions are under way both within Sapvia structures and with the Department of Trade and Industry in an effort to shift the localisation formula from pure monetary values to supply chains, which the domestic industry believes will help bolster economies of scale.
However, ultimately, security of demand will be a critical determinant for driving investments by the manufacturers of components used in solar PV projects.
“That is why my main goal remains the promotion of an increased role for solar PV in the South African energy mix,” Thobela concludes.