Mantashe signs off on 3 new wind power projects
Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe on Thursday signed a project agreement for three of the 25 preferred bidder projects in the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
The agreements fall under bid window five, which was announced late last year.
The three plants are all wind projects under the South African subsidiary of the global energy company EDF Renewables.
Once completed the Coleskop power station in the Eastern Cape and the San Kraal and Phezukomoya plants, which are both located in the Northern Cape, will add a combined 420 megawatts to the national grid.
Last year the department said the preferred bidders' projects were expected to inject an estimated R50 billion into the economy and create close to 14 000 job opportunities.
According to the head of the Independent Power Producers office, Benard Magoro, the total investment from the projects is R11 billion.
Magoro explained there had been delays since the announcement of the preferred bidders in October last year, which was mainly due to the issuing of budget quotes by Eskom.
He says while there were still some challenges, all 25 budget quotes have now been issued with the expectation that the process will be concluded next month.
"I guess the next question is where to from here? Following the signature date [Thursday], they have about 60 days to complete the financial close...For construction, we have allocated a maximum of 24 months from financial close. So, we expect this capacity to be online by December 2024."
Delivering his remarks amid calls for his sacking over the energy crisis, Minister Mantashe said he believes South Africa has a baseload problem, more than it does an energy crisis, as Eskom battles to keep the lights on.
He says the power utility has 48 000 megawatts connected to the grid, but at best it only delivers 26 000 megawatts. He has called for the capacitation and optimisation of the national power supplier.
"If we can improve and make Eskom operate optimally, we will not have load shedding. Because Eskom has an idling 20 000 megawatts that is not being decommissioned, that is not giving us energy.
"Let's work on those 20 000 megawatts as we bring new capacity; renewables, gas, and nuclear. As we give that new capacity, the existing capacity must be operated optimally. If we do that, we will not go wrong."
The envisaged total new energy capacity from the 25 preferred bidders will amount to 2 583 megawatts, of which 1 608 megawatts will be procured from 12 wind projects and 975 megawatts from 13 solar PV projects.
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