Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities Minister David Maynier and Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Minister Anton Bredell have welcomed a decision by the Stellenbosch municipal council to consider generating and using alternate electricity energy supplies to beat load-shedding and become more energy resilient.

"Through the Municipal Energy Resilience (MER) Project, the Western Cape government will be supporting the Stellenbosch municipality in its aim to become energy resilient. The MER project is spearheaded by our Green Economy unit at the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, which is working in collaboration with the Department of Local Government and Provincial Treasury to assist municipalities to take advantage of the new energy regulations, which may include purchasing of energy directly from independent power producers (IPPs)," they say in a joint statement.

The promulgation of the Electricity Regulation Act Regulations in October 2020 opened the door for municipalities to generate their own electricity and buy electricity from independent power producers (IPPs).

The Stellenbosch council will soon start an investigation into the use and generation of alternate electricity energy supplies, says Stellenbosch executive mayor Gesie van Deventer.

"In addition to years of sustained good governance, our municipality is in the fortunate position of having some of the brightest minds in the energy sector right on our doorstep. We will be able to make use of brilliant internal research entities, experts at the University of Stellenbosch, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Western Cape government as part of our joint investigation," she says.

The joint investigation will focus on various potential sources of energy production, including rooftop solar panels, methane mining, allowing the public to generate electricity and sell this to the municipality, buying electricity directly from registered IPPs and the possible sale of electricity to willing buyers from outside the Stellenbosch municipal area, Van Deventer notes.

"We look forward to working alongside our research partners on the journey towards energy independence. We are committed to conducting our investigation in a scientifically rigorous and transparent manner and will be providing more details on this venture once the findings of the investigation are tabled before council," she says.

"We have worked hard to deliver a number of projects, including the recently launched MER project, to mitigate the impact of load-shedding on the provincial economy.

"I am pleased to hear that we are able to support Stellenbosch municipality through the MER project and I look forward to our continued efforts to do everything we can to support other municipalities to participate in the growing green energy sector so that, together, we can create a more energy resilient future in the Western Cape," says Maynier.