Industry organisations the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) and the South Africa Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) have launched the 2023 South African Renewable Energy Grid Survey in conjunction with State-owned power utility Eskom.
The 2023 version of the survey has been updated to account for projects that employ wheeling and has been expanded to capture even more detail per project to aid Eskom in its overall grid planning.
"The survey submissions will provide better insights to enhance future Grid Capacity Connection Assessment updates, and submitted data will be consolidated, aggregated and summarised, thereby providing Eskom with valuable insights for grid access demand and informing grid strengthening and expansion planning," SAPVIA says.
The yearly survey provides the renewable energy industry with an invaluable opportunity to inform and influence grid expansion and planning that will benefit the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme and private investment in new generation capacity.
"We request that all SAPVIA and SAWEA members use the survey to submit projects by the close of business on March 31," it notes.
However, all information submitted in the survey will go directly to Eskom; hence, neither SAWEA, SAPVIA nor their members will have access to this data, SAPVIA points out.
It also thanks the Eskom strategic grid planning team for its valuable insight and cooperation in the design and set up of the survey, as well as the chairperson of the SAPVIA grid access working group and engineering services multinational WSP senior renewable energy engineer Zayd Vawda for leading the development and strategic guidance of the survey.