According to South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the sixth round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP) has begun in South Africa. The authorities intend to provide companies 1 GW of utility-scale solar and 1.6 GW of wind in the REIPPPP’s sixth round.
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A key downside risk to Oracle’s investment and to the overall growth of South Africa’s cloud computing industry is the unreliable access to power in the country. Powering digital infrastructure using renewable sources is becoming an increasingly attractive trend, particularly in SSA where reliable access to electricity grids is uncertain and its near-constant sunshine makes it the ideal location to explore solar power.
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The Government of South Africa has ambitious plans to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy. But are current policy settings sufficient to achieve these objectives? The renewable energy sector currently contributes only a small share of total electricity generation in South Africa: in 2019 wind and solar accounted for 3% and 1% of total generation, respectively. Installed capacity increased tenfold in as many years, from 0.9 gigawatts (GW) in 2011 to 9.6 GW in 2020.
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South Africa is Africa’s largest PV market by far and reached GW-scale in 2016. Operation and Maintenance (O&M) has become a standalone segment within the solar industry, and it is widely acknowledged by all stakeholders that highquality O&M services mitigate potential risks, improve the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) prices, and positively impact the return on investment (ROI).
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South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has announced the results of the fifth round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP). This resulted in the allocation of 2,583 MW of renewable energy capacity to 25 projects with capacities ranging from 75 to 140 MW.
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Anglo American Platinum has chosen EDF Renewables South Africa and Pele Green Energy to build a 100 MWp solar photovoltaic system at its Mogalakwena platinum mine in South Africa. The initiative is part of the mining company’s long-term sustainability plan in South Africa. The partnership plans to start building the solar facility in the fourth quarter of 2022, with completion due in late 2023.
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Exxaro Resources Limited, a coal mining company headquartered in South Africa, has floated an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) tender for the development of a 70 MW solar PV farm at its Grootegeluk coal mine in the country’s Limpopo province. The winning bidder will also be responsible for the operations and maintenance of the facility for 5 years.
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The Greefspan II solar photovoltaic power plant is the newest addition to South Africa’s operational commercial solar plants. It is located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The project has been established under a partnership between the fund manager African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), the Spanish company TSK and South Africa’s Umbono Energy Partners. The total capacity of the plant is 63.2 MW, with roughly 188,822 photovoltaic modules installed.
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South African electricity public utility, Eskom has launched a Renewable Energy Tariff pilot programme to engage with businesses who need to meet their renewable energy commitments. The programme aims to source clean electricity supply to Eskoms customers, with up to 100 per cent supply from renewable sources. This would enable businesses to meet their clean energy targets, without entering into long-term Power Purchase Agreements or investing capital in their own renewable energy generators.
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Green bond issuance in South Africa has been patchy with strong issuance early on followed by small volumes in the intervening years and a bumper year in 2019. Encouragingly, there has been a good diversification of issuers including banks and cities. Supportive regulation is critical and can take the form of direct support for green bonds (subsidies etc.) or, more importantly for the energy sector, through strong and consistent policy support across planning, finance, procurement and energy.
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South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has received 102 bids for 2.6 GW of renewable energy projects. Of the bids received, 63 were for solar projects while 39 were for wind projects. The announcement follows South Africa’s fifth renewable energy tender, floated in March 2021 for 2.6 GW of clean energy projects.
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vernment of South Africa has officially increased the license requirement for embedded generating projects from 1 MW to 100 MW. The ERA schedule 2 amendment would be published within 60 days. The amendment raises the barrier for embedded generating from 1 MW to 100 MW without the need for a license.
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Fortress REIT (Real Estate Investments), a South African hybrid fund that invests in direct properties and other publicly traded real estate firms, has issued a total of $61.5 million in sustainability-linked bonds. The bonds will be used to increase the company’s renewable energy output and provide additional solar energy to the national grid.
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Globeleq, a South African independent power producer, has completed the senior debt refinancing of three of its renewable energy plants, totaling 238 MW. Absa Bank, part of the financial services company Absa Group Ltd, served as the required lead arranger and sole underwriter for the $362 million debt financing package.
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Sasol South Africa Limited and Air Liquide Large Industries have invited bids to procure 1,800 GWh per annum of solar and wind power from independent power producers under the first tranche of their ‘Renewable Energy Implementation Program’ in South Africa. Of the total capacity, Air Liquide aims to source 1200 GWh per annum while Sasol looks to procure 600 GWh per annum. The independent power producers will be responsible for the design, finance, build, own, operate, and maintain these renewable energy facilities.
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REGlobal presents an extract from the Global Summary Power & Renewables by Fitch Solutions which highlights the offshore wind potential of the Black Sea, challenges in expanding South Africa’s power capacity, improving growth prospects for solar power in Malaysia and continued momentum in Chile’s renewables sector.
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The South African Government has declared three additional geographic areas as Renewable Energy Development Zones (REDZs). The country now has a total of 11 REDZs. The areas include Emalahleni, Klerksdorp, and Beaufort West and are expected to house a number of renewable energy projects in the country. According to the notice, Emalahleni and Klerksdorp have been identified as strategic for large-scale solar power development and Beaufort West has been identified as strategic for both solar and wind projects.
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ENGIE has finalised an agreement to acquire a 40 per cent equity stake from Abengoa in Xina Solar One, which is a concentrated solar project with a capacity of 100 MW. ENGIE has also acquired a share of 46 per cent of the operations and maintenance company. The plant is located in the Northern Cape of South Africa, where ENGIE’s 100 MW Kathu CSP plant is also located.
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Fitch Solutions has developed a Hydrogen Index which assesses the suitability of a market for the development of a green hydrogen industry. South Africa remains the region’s top-ranked market, given its well-established power sector and having the largest installed non-hydropower renewables capacity in SSA.
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The South African government has announced plans to launch three rounds of tenders for the development of 6.8 GW of renewable energy in the country. As per the schedule, the first cycle will be launched by the first week of February 2021. Under the first round, 2.6 GW of solar and wind capacity will be auctioned. Similarly, the second phase of the auction to be held in August 2021 will allot 2.6 GW and the third phase to be held in January 2022 will allot 1.6 GW of wind and solar power.
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