Financing energy deals is easy; finding the right partners is hard, private sector tells forum

The solution to South Africa’s energy crisis lies in closer cooperation and trust between government and the private sector. This was the bottom line at a panel discussion at the Green Energy Africa Summit on Monday.

Speaking at the conference, Richard Doyle, managing director of Juwi Renewable Energies, said the energy sector has seen a “mixed bag of developments” over the last few years, adding that “the better the private sector and government can work together, the faster we can effect change”.

Earlier this year, Juwi announced that it has 400MW of engineering, procurement and construction projects in advanced stages of development for mines in South Africa.

“We’re seeing a wave of formal requests for renewable energy projects from South African mines, largely driven by the energy crisis, commercial considerations and decarbonisation targets,” Doyle says, noting that the right regulation had to be in place to translate the demand into actual projects. 

“The amendments to the licence exemption threshold and ability to wheel electricity are now allowing us to pivot projects into the private sector, making them a reality,” he says.

Wheeling is the act of transporting electricity from a generator to a remotely located end-user through the grid. With most large mines and energy users in South Africa lacking land for large-scale wind and solar projects, the ability to wheel electricity is essential for self-generation.

Jan Fourie, executive vice-president for Scatec in sub-Saharan Africa, said South Africa doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. 

“There are well-trodden paths elsewhere in the world … we need to learn from those and put it into practice in the South African context,” he said.  

“Money is really not the problem when it comes to funding these projects. It’s finding the right projects, and making sure the right off-takers are well versed in what they are buying. 

“I think there’s a lot of education, similar to the beginning of REIPPP [Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme] where everyone from the banks to the lawyers had to get educated fast. 

“I think now, the private sector off-takers are going through a similar learning curve and upskilling themselves,” Fourie says.

More thought on regulatory changes

The expert panel addressing issues around financing renewable energy at the Green Energy Africa Summit on 10 October 2023. (Photo: Neesa Moodley)