Interested parties have until 4 August to submit applications into the country’s Bid Window Five
South Africa has a launched a request for proposals for 2600MW of new renewable energy projects from independent power producers (IPP).
The Bid Window Five of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme is open until 4 August.
It aims to procure 1.6GW of wind energy and 1GW of solar power, South African Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said on 18 March.
Mantashe also announced the eight preferred bidders for the country’s 2GW Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme.
They include the 128MW Oya Energy hybrid facility, which will comprise wind, solar and energy storage, and the Mulilo Total Hydra Storage plant and Mulilo Total Coega project.
The other preferred bidders are Umoyilanga Energy, ACWA Power Project DAO, Karpowership SA Coega, Karpowership SA Richards Bay and Karpowership SA Saldanha.
They must reach financial close by the end of July and first power should be delivered by August next year.
South African Wind Energy Association chief executive Ntombifuthi Ntuli said: “An advantage of renewable energy hybrid systems lies in their ability to combine two of the fastest growing renewable energy technologies.
“Hybrid systems can also take advantage of the complementary nature of solar PV, which produces power during the day, and wind, which produces most of its power at night.”
Baker McKenzie partner and head of the energy, mining and infrastructure practice in Johannesburg Kieran Whyte said: “There has been broad acknowledgment that South Africa has to move forward towards the energy transition and the increased utilisation of renewable energy, and that the country has been in dire need of a reliable and secure energy supply in order to get out of its negative growth spiral.
“The challenges at Eskom have led many to conclude that the country couldn’t achieve stable economic growth without a reliable electricity supply.
“The announcement today of eight successful bids and the opening of bids for the fifth round of the REIPPP is a long- awaited step in the right direction.”
Source: renews.biz
