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Renewable energy projects may keep the lights on longer in 2024 — we hope

Renewable energy projects may keep the lights on longer in 2024 — we hope
Neesa Moodley
By Neesa Moodley
29 Dec 2023
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As the country basks in what many South Africans recognise as the luxury of uninterrupted electricity supply, one can’t help but wonder when the bubble will burst. It’s been just more than two weeks since load shedding was suspended around 14 December.

However, a flurry of generation capacity coming online from renewable energy power producers brings with it the hope that rolling blackouts may reduce in 2024.

Early in December the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy opened Bid Window 7 (BW7) under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

The additional 5,000MW of new generation capacity from independent power producers (IPPs), with a substantial portion (3,200MW) dedicated to wind energy, will hopefully help address energy security.

Contrary to a geographically agnostic approach, bid round seven takes into consideration the country’s grid constraints. The department has explicitly directed bidders to assess available supply areas based on the Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA) of the 2025 Transmission Network (GCCA 2025).

Niveshen Govender, chief executive of the South African Wind Energy Association, emphasised the importance of rolling procurement to attract market investment and mitigate risks.

“To ensure a successful bid window, the industry is mindful of outstanding critical issues which require clarification, particularly those related to grid capacity and its allocation. In addition, the industry will examine the bid window document to assess its implications for upcoming projects set to come online,” he says, adding that ongoing constructive engagement with Eskom will be maintained until these issues are effectively resolved.

The department has set a bid submission date of 30 April 2024 for round seven.

As noted in the PWC Africa Energy Review 2023, southern Africa has significant solar and wind potential, with South Africa having installed 10GW of renewable projects. However, that has not been enough to stop rolling blackouts as the ageing coal infrastructure energy availability factor (EAF) dropped from 58% in 2022 to 54% in 2023. “Changes in legislation, the start of the unbundling of Eskom into transmission, generation and distribution units, and the draft South Africa Renewable Energy plan all indicate that there is a drive to accelerate renewable energy deployment anchored with dispatchable power,” says Dr Roelof van Huyssteen, PwC South Africa energy law expert.

Hybrid renewable energy projects on the cards for 2025


The first Hybrid Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme projects with dispatchable power are expected to come online in 2025. The two projects totalling 203MW will incorporate wind, solar and battery storage technology on a utility-scale, a first for the government’s procurement programmes. 

Also known as co-location power projects, these hybrid IPPs will provide dispatchable electricity during peak hours, amplifying the contribution of renewable energy to the energy crisis and helping to reduce the effects of load shedding.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Eskom news

“This is a massive benefit for the country, as these renewable energy hybrid systems will showcase the complementary nature of solar PV, which produces power during the day, and wind, which produces most of its power during the morning and evening peak. This combined with battery storage means dispatchable power when it’s most needed,” says Govender.

The two projects, situated at three sites in the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape, are expected to attract a total investment of about R14.6-billion, generating almost 4,000 jobs in the construction and operation phases.  

The projects are:

  • 128MW Oya Energy Hybrid Facility in Matjiesfontein, Western Cape; and

  • 75MW Umoyilanga Energy, to be built across two sites at Avondale in the Northern Cape and Dassiesridge in the Eastern Cape.


Ten years of clean energy production


While the hybrid renewable energy projects are just starting their journey, the RustMo1 Solar Project, the first renewable energy project developed under South Africa’s large renewables tender programme, recently marked 10 years of clean energy production. 

The 7MW project has generated about 12.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power several thousand low-income homes.

Developed by Momentous Energy and now owned together with Reatile Renewables, the 19-hectare project site, 22km outside of Rustenburg, was built and is operated by JUWI Renewable Energies South Africa. Project debt was provided by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa and financial services group, Nedbank.

“The RustMo1 Solar Project exemplifies the profound importance and power of private-public partnerships in steering the world towards clean energy, with us pioneering on financial close, project agreements, and so on, that still remain in use across the independent power producers industry today,” says Dr Pravin Semnarayan, chief executive of Momentous Energy. “It has truly been a joint effort, requiring deep commitment and collaboration from various institutions dedicated to advancing our country’s energy transition over the past decade.”

Richard Doyle, managing director of JUWI Renewable Energies, points out: “As the first REI4P project, RustMo1 demanded constant innovation and creative problem-solving from the JUWI and Momentous Energy teams and partners, navigating uncharted waters. With no national grid rules in place during the project’s commissioning, the partners worked closely with the Renewable Energy Technical Evaluation Committee to create the grid code, now guiding all solar plants connecting to the grid.”

JUWI has been operating the plant for the past 10 years and has just signed a new agreement to continue management operations. In the next decade the project will generate a further 110 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy, reducing carbon by about 66,000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent emissions of about 24 million litres of diesel consumed. DM

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