The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and the South Africa National Energy Development Institute, through the South African Wind Energy Programme (Sawep), have invited proposals for work on a minigrid in the Raymond Mhlaba local municipality, in the Eastern Cape.
The Eastern Cape provincial government and the Lower Saxony State of Germany have worked on a minigrid pilot project to electrify a small village called Upper Blinkwater.
The village includes 70 households, a school and a church.
The project represents a model for supplying high-quality energy to deep rural villages which are not due to be connected to the national grid in the foreseeable future.
Sawep is seeking service providers for the design, planning, engineering, procurement, construction, connection to the photovoltaic and genset system, testing and commissioning of six small-scale wind turbines, with a total capacity of 21 kW.
The work includes one year of operation, maintenance and capacity building services to the village.
Sawep has called on wind turbine supply and installation companies to submit proposals for the supply of six wind turbines by 12:00 on January 17.
Terms of reference and information abound submissions can be found at http://procurement-notices.undp.org.
Additionally, Sawep has invited proposals for owner’s engineer services to ensure the project is implemented with a high standard of workmanship and quality, while adhering to timeframes, budget and environmental standards.