IRP bodes well for solar industry – SAPVIA

18th October 2019

By: Simone Liedtke

Creamer Media Social Media Editor & Senior Writer

     

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The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) has welcomed the release of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and said that the significant allocation toward renewable energy boded well for the industry.

The IRP2019 has made an allocation of 6 000 MW of new generation capacity for large scale solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity and about 6 000 MW for embedded generation.

Commenting on the IRP, SAPVIA chairperson Wido Schnabel said on Friday that the association would continue to engage Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to find mechanisms to “smooth out the gaps” for solar power in the plan.

In 2024, 2026 and 2027 no new solar PV is envisaged to be added to the grid and Schnabel pointed out that continuity was important for investment in industrialisation.

With the release of the plan, SAPVIA urged the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the Independent Power Producer’s Office to “move expeditiously” in implementing the Round 5 bidding window under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, which would aid in the rapid deployment of additional generating capacity, the need for which has been made apparent by the latest round of load-shedding by embattled State utility Eskom.

SAPVIA was also pleased to see the allocation to embedded generation increased from 200 MW to 500 MW yearly, which it said has the potential to unlock significant new investment.

To this end, SAPVIA COO Niveshen Govender said that the waived requirement for Ministerial deviation on 1 MW to 10 MW small scale embedded generation projects, and the allocation to embedded generation, based on short-term capacity and energy gaps, were great portents for the sector’s future.

“We encourage the department to swiftly gazette an amendment to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act, thereby allowing for licensing exemptions for projects with a generating capacity less than 10 MW.”

SAPVIA has welcomed the statement from Cabinet, wherein it highlighted that the “IRP is a living document, which will be amended over time to reflect the realities of the energy sector”.

This is a pragmatic approach, SAPVIA said, if based on clear principles, and would, in time, result in an even larger future allocation to cheaper and easier-to-deploy renewable energy projects.

Govender encouraged the DMRE to start planning the techno-economic studies and analysis required for the next iteration of the IRP to ensure that policy reflected the latest, most accurate assumptions on all technologies.

Edited by Mariaan Webb
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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