Green shoots which may reignite the Renewable Energy Industry

by Nozipho Bhengu, Director

• In line with the Ministerial Determination issued under section 34 of the Electricity Regulations and concurred with by the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), on 18 March 2021, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe made the long awaited announcement that the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the procurement of 2 600 megawatts of electricity under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPP) Bid Window 5 would be released to the market at midnight on 19 March 2021.
• The RFP for Bid Window 5 invites independent power producers to submit bids for 1 600 megawatts generated from wind and 1 000 megawatts from solar PV, with project sizes ranging from a minimum of 1megawatt to a maximum of 140 megawatts for wind and a minimum of 1 megawatt to a maximum of 75 megawatt for solar PV.
• The Minister further announced that the closing date for the submission of bids under Bid Window 5 is 4 August 2021 and Bid Window 6 will be launched in August 2021. Details as to how to obtain the RFP for Bid Window 5 are available on the IPP office website: ipp-projects.co.za.
• Since the above announcement the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has, further announced that it intends convening a virtual bidders’ conference in April 2021 to provide information and clarity on the bid submission requirements and expectations for Bid Window 5 of the REIPP. Further details of the bidders’ conference will be announced by DMRE in due course.
• The announcement to procure additional electricity capacity comes at a time when the country is experiencing crippling load shedding and therefore shows Government’s serious intent to address electricity shortages that the country is facing and ensure energy security. Government is to be applauded for this initiative, which will hopefully go a long way to resolving the electricity shortages in South Africa and revitalise the renewable energy industry and the economy.