Following another delay in the release of the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) update, the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) on Friday reminded key stakeholders of “the role that renewable energy plays in the country’s future development” and the achievement of the National Development Plan (NDP) outcomes.

Engineering News Online on Thursday reported that while Cabinet had, on Wednesday, deliberated on the IRP update, discussion could not be completed as a result of the “importance of the document”. Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu, however, assured the media during a post-Cabinet briefing that the discussions would be concluded “soon”.

In voicing the association’s disappointment at the failed approval of the IRP update, SAWEA CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli said the approval of the energy document was particularly critical, especially considering the role that this roadmap plays in ensuring that the country remains on track to deliver the energy requirements for its development needs, and to achieve the NDP benchmarks.

Published in August 2012, the NDP, informed by 14 outcomes, is designed as a blueprint to grow the economy, eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030.

More specifically, the NDP calls for improving energy infrastructure in a sustainable way, increasing investments in energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions by diversifying the energy mix and procuring at least 20 GW of renewable energy by the stated deadline.

The plan also accentuates the revision of the national electrification plan to ensure 90% grid access by 2030, with the balance to be met through quality off-grid technologies.

While the introduction of renewable energy into the electricity system can be traced back as far as December 1998, with the White Paper on Energy Policy, which articulated the objective to stimulate the introduction of renewable energy sources into the energy mix, the birth of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) was directly linked to the NDP, SAWEA pointed out in a statement on Friday.

“The 2010 IRP was launched with the aim of developing power projects that would add renewable energy into our power system by 2030 and as a direct result of the NDP’s outcomes,” added Ntuli.

When asked if the sector was on track to deliver on the 2030 goal to connect 20 GW of renewable power to the grid, considering that just over 6.2 GW of renewable power had been procured to date, Ntuli responded that “the simple answer is yes, we are on track to achieve this”.

The latest IRP draft makes provision for 9.98 GW of wind energy and 7.47 GW of solar photovoltaic capacity, which makes up a total of over 17.5 GW of new capacity of renewable power by 2030. 

Adding this to the already procured power capacity, South Africa would have well over 20 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, explained Ntuli.

Further, among the list of outcomes that needed to be realised at the end of the implementation period of the NDP, a number of them spoke directly or indirectly to implementation of renewable energy or the green economy, SAWEA said.

Outcome 6, which looks to creating an efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure network, is where the green economy is positioned to make the biggest contribution.

However, the renewable energy sector was also positioned to contribute to Outcome 10, namely the protection and enhancement of the country’s environmental assets and natural resources, in a meaningful way, SAWEA said.

“The renewable energy sector is achieving this by providing clean energy and offsetting the need to use environmentally unfriendly energy sources such as coal.”

Additionally, through the REIPPPP, water savings of 42.8-million kilolitres has been realised from inception until the end of March, this year. Further, 36.2-million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions have been avoided.

“With the energy industry being the biggest driver of the South African economy, it makes sense that the sector provides the lever for existing and new green jobs, which speaks to two of the key NDP outcomes,” SAWEA further stated, adding that the wind energy industry employed South Africans across a range of skills levels and created “meaningful employment”.

The 22 wind energy projects that have successfully reached commercial operations thusfar have reported 1 996 job years, with 32 140 job years expected to be created over the operational life span of the full wind portfolio, SAWEA pointed out.