The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has reiterated its call for increased power generation from renewable sources as the country buckles under another round of load-shedding.
The association highlights the ample opportunity available for independent power producers (IPPs) to build private generation plants, particularly in Mpumalanga.
The country’s energy availability factor (EAF), once again, dipped below 60% this week.
Eskom first announced its intention to initiate an auction process that will make land in Mpumalanga available to private investors for renewable power plants toward the end of 2021.
SAWEA CEO Niveshen Govender says this proposed option can remove significant barriers and increase the country’s EAF quicker, since it can drive the production of much-needed new clean power in a corner of the country that has not historically been considered as a feasible destination for renewable energy.
“Considering that load-shedding continues to increase running costs, as well as reduced productivity and profitability in businesses, it is vital to explore and implement options that will drive up energy availability.
“Further, on a macro scale, South Africa’s economy continues to be negatively impacted and will need increased power generation that is cost-effective in order to increase investor confidence.”
With this option, renewable energy IPPs have the opportunity to work alongside the systems operator to get more green electrons onto the grid, relatively quickly, since the maximum amount of electricity generation capacity per project will be capped at 100 MW, thereby negating the need for additional licensing, Govender concludes.