The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has applauded President Cyril Ramaphosa’s support for the energy sector’s transformation and welcomes the clarity he has provided on various reforms.
The association deems the reforms vital for the sector to become competitive, with multiple generators of power competing to supply electricity at the lowest cost and selling power directly to customers.
The President, during his Presidency Budget address on June 9, outlined the work that is under way to increase the energy availability factor of South Africa’s power fleet, including work to ensure a speedy financial close of projects procured under Bid Window 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.
Ramaphosa also mentioned government’s focus on accelerating private sector investment in generation capacity under the 100 MW reform and enabling State-owned energy utility Eskom to buy surplus power from existing power producers.
The President intends to support municipalities to procure power independently and encourages households and businesses to invest in small-scale solar power installations.
SAWEA CEO Niveshen Govender says these interventions are in line with the renewable energy sector advocacy efforts.
“We believe this step change will alleviate the impact of power disruptions and allow us to build back better. While these are ambitious interventions, strong leadership is required to move us forward.”