SPECIAL FEATURE
Renewable energy programme powers ahead A private energy producers' programme has already attracted R200-billion in private investment – and more is in the pipeline.
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ast, efficient and adaptable – these are not always the first words that spring to mind when businessmen and investors get together to talk about government. But in the case of South Africa's programme to allow private investors to build renewable energy plants and sell power to the national grid, efficiency and speed have been the watchwords. The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) had by May 2016 delivered the promise of 6 377 megawatts (MW) with an investment value of R250-billion and many of the projects are already delivering electricity to South Africa's grid. The REIPPPP has so far seen four phases of bidding (known as bidding windows), and competition among investors is fierce. The most recent, fourth, window attracted 77 bids from which just 13 were SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2017
chosen, but a further 13 bids were accepted later. Collectively the 26 projects will add 2 205MW of power and inject R23-billion into the economy. The generation mix accepted by the Department of Energy in the fourth window gives a good indication of the preferred types of energy that have characterised the whole REIPPPP: • 12 wind projects (1 368MW) • 12 solar photo-voltaic (solar PV) projects (813MW) • one hydro-power project (5MW) • one bio-mass project (25MW) Solar and wind have been the most popular projects over the life of the REIPPPP (which started accepting the first bids in November 2011), with solar PV generating more interest than the concentrated solar power (CSP) method. According to the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), shareholding for local com-
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