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REIPPPP

Future Of Renewable Energy Projects In South Africa At Crossroads Again

written by saurabh

South Africa’s power utility Eskom has once again refused to sign power purchase agreements with renewable energy project developers and this time it seems to have complete backing of the government.

Recently, an inter-governmental team informed the South African Parliament that Eskom is facing some challenges which are preventing it from signing PPAs with renewable energy project developers who had secured projects through competitive auctions.

One of the challenges, as quoted by the team, is oversupply in the grid. This directly highlights the poor planning and foresight of the government which launched, and then expanded, the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme.

With its decision not to sign PPAs with planned projects, investment worth $4.45 billion is now stranded. This is the second time that Eskom has backtracked from its commitment to sign the PPAs.

In August last year, Eskom had refused to sign a PPA with a concentrated solar power project backed by SolarReserve with a capacity of 100 megawatts. The project has a tariff of 12.40/kWh and the agreement was supposed to be signed for a duration of 20 years.

Eskom openly stated that it will no longer sign PPAs with any renewable energy projects. The utility stated that there was excess renewable energy going into the grid, which has also increased the cost of power.

Eskom has also expressed concerns over the existing grid to absorb the new renewable energy projects. However, it received a loan worth $1.34 billion from African Development Bank (AfDB) for the expansion and strengthening of its transmission network.

In January 2017, the South African Renewable Energy Council threaten to drag Eskom to court over its refusal to sign PPAs with renewable energy project developers. There has been no recent update about whether such a lawsuit was ever filed.

In March 2017, energy ministry Tina Joemat-Pettersson said that Eskom would soon sign outstanding PPAs. But the utility missed a deadline set by the ministry.

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07/04/2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

South Africa Simplifies EIA Procedures For Renewable Energy Projects

written by saurabh

Renewable energy development seems to be gaining pace once again in South Africa as the government there recently changed certain rules to expedite installation of projects in the eight Renewable Energy Development Zones of the country.

The Ministry of Environmental Affairs in South Africa recently announced changes to the procedures that renewable energy project developers must follow to gain approvals. The Ministry stated that large-scale solar and wind energy project developers will now have to follow a basic assessment procedure instead of all the procedures listed in the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2014.

The Ministry would allow project developers to provide basic assessment of the impact of project development as it has already completed scoping level pre-assessment of the project sites in the eight Renewable Energy Development Zones (REDZs).

By doing away with the requirement of detailed environmental assessment the Ministry will reduce the timeframe for decision making on each project from a maximum of 300 days to just 57 days.

The eight REDZs were notified by the South African government in February 2016 with an aim to facilitate better utilisation of renewable energy resources and integration of large-scale renewable energy projects into the existing power transmission network.

The move by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs would serve as a great incentive for project developers looking to be part of the forthcoming auctions under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP).

Through this initiative the government has also thrown long-term support behind development of renewable energy market in the country. Last year, Eskom, the South African utility responsible to procure electricity from all renewable energy projects, had expressed inability to service power purchase agreements signed with several projects allocated under REIPPPP.

04/30/2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Eskom May End Anti-renewable Energy Stance Soon

written by saurabh

South Africa’s power utility is expected to end its alleged opposition towards procurement of renewable energy from some projects under the country’s auction programme, the energy minister has indicated.

Tina Joemat-Pettersson recently stated that the impasse between Eskom and renewable energy generators has been broken. This could mean that the utility may soon fulfil its promise to procure all electricity generated from projects already auction.

In August last year, Eskom had refused to sign PPA with a concentrated solar power project backed by SolarReserve with capacity of 100 megawatts. The project has a tariff of 12.40/kWh and the agreement was supposed to be signed for a duration of 20 years.

Eskom openly stated that it will no longer sign PPAs with any renewable energy projects. The utility stated that there was excess renewable energy going into the grid which has also increased the cost of power.

Eskom has expressed difficulty in absorption of the rapidly increasing renewable energy capacity in the country due to transmission capacity constraints. The utility recently secured funding to strengthen power grid. The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced a $1.34 billion loan to South African utility Eskom for the expansion and strengthening of its transmission network.

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03/05/2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Enel Green Power Reports 124% Jump In Renewable Energy Capacity Addition In 2016

written by saurabh

Enel’s Global Renewable Energies Division reported a record-breaking jump in capacity addition last year.

Enel Green Power reported that it added 2,018 megawatts of renewable energy capacity last year, a 124% increase from around 900 megawatts capacity added in 2015. Quite understandably, a good majority of the new capacity was added in developing markets, like Brazil, Mexico, Chile and South Africa.

“This record confirms once again the incredible efforts made by the entire Enel Green Power team,” said Francesco Venturini, Head of Enel’s Global Renewable Energies Division. “It’s a team result that makes us extremely proud. The credit goes to everyone who worked selflessly and steadfastly to attain this success.”

Solar and wind energy technologies dominated the capacity addition last year at Enel Green Power.

In Chile the company, through a subsidiary, added 542 megawatts of solar and wind energy projects. This includes 160 megawatts Finis Terrae solar PV park and 97 megawatts Carrera Pinto solar power project.

In Brazil, the company commissioned 102 MW Apiacás hydropower park in the state of Mato Grosso. The company has lined up several large-scale solar power projects in the country to be commissioned this year. These include a 254 megawatts and a 292 megawatts solar power project; the latter will be the largest solar power project in South America and also the largest solar power project owned by Enel when commissioned.

Additionally, Enel Green Power Peru is also working on a 160 megawatts solar power project which is expected to be commissioned this year.

Wind energy projects with cumulative capacity of 229 megawatts were commissioned in Mexico by Enel Green Power. The company added 470 megawatts of renewable energy capacity, second only to the United States. Enel Green Power RSA commissioned multiple solar and wind energy projects under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

The company added 573 megawatts of renewable energy capacity in the United States. This includes 200 megawatts wind energy capacity at Cimarron Bend wind farm. The wind farm will eventually have an installed capacity of 400 megawatts making it Enel’s largest wind energy project globally.

02/13/2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Enel Commissions 165 Megawatt Solar Power Capacity In South Africa

written by saurabh

Expanding its footprint in South Africa’s renewable energy market, Enel Green Power recently announced the commissioning of two solar power projects.

The Italian renewable energy giant stated that its subsidiary Enel Green Power RSA commissioned two solar photovoltaic power projects under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). Both the projects have an installed capacity of 82.5 megawatts and were secured by the company in the third phase of competitive auctions under REIPPPP.

The projects, located in Northern Cape and Free State provinces, with together generate 318 GWh per year, equivalent to the annual consumption needs of around 100,000 South African households, while offsetting more than 290,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

The projects have long-term power purchase agreements with Eskom, the South African utility.

EGP RSA currently owns and operates three other PV plants in South Africa: Paleisheuwel (82.5 MW), which is situated in the Western Cape province, Tom Burke (66 MW) in the Limpopo province and Upington (10 MW), which is located in the Northern Cape province. The company also operates the 88 MW Nojoli wind farm in the Eastern Cape, where it is also building the 111 MW Gibson Bay wind facility.

02/13/2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Construction Begins At 100 MW Kathu CSP Project In South Africa

written by saurabh

Construction has begun on yet another concentrated solar power project in South Africa under its famed, and now controversial, Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

A consortium led by ENGIE recently announced that construction work has begun at the Kathu 100 MW CSP project in the Northern Cape province, South Africa. The project will be developed jointly by SENER and ACCIONA which shall provide engineering, procurement and construction services for the project.

The 100 MW project will sell electricity to Eksom through a 20-year power purchase agreement once it is fully commissioned in H2 2018. The Kathu Solar Park project will employ Sener patented parabolic trough reflectors and a molten salt storage system with 4.5 hours thermal storage capacity.

The project was allotted to ENGIE (formerly GDF Suez) and its partners during the third round of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPPP) auctions, with an investment of more than €500 million.

This project will be located near KaXu Solar One, which was the first solar thermal power project in South Africa. Both these companies have considerable experience in the development of solar thermal power projects. For both Sener and Acciona, this will be their second solar thermal project to be developed in South Africa. They worked together earlier on the Bokpoort plant (Upington), which is also a turnkey project employing Sener trough and a molten salt storage system. Bokpoort plant is expected to be commissioned by end of this year.

10/26/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

South Africa Likely To Achieve 5.6 GW Wind Energy Capacity By 2020

written by saurabh

According to the new report released by GlobalData, South Africa has immense potential for wind installations over the next four years.

The research and consulting firm GlobalData report states that more than 3 GW wind energy is expected to be installed by 2020 which will bring country’s cumulative wind capacity to 5.6 GW.

The report also states that majority of the capacity addition occurred in the last few years with 30 MW installed in 2013, 606 MW in 2014 and 483 MW in 2015. Until 2012 wind industry was almost non-existent with just 10 MW cumulative wind capacity installed.

According to GlobalData analyst Pavan Vyakaranam, South African wind energy market is still new even after large capacity additions in the past few years and has a huge potential for growth. He that country needs a system to determine wind speeds and other factors to plan installations, future developments and infrastructure in line with the available wind potential at different locations and sites.

GlobalData states that South Africa’s wind industry has the potential to push the country closer to reaching its climate targets. In 2015, South Africa submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Commitments (INDC) ahead of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) with an aim to limit the green-house gas emissions by striking balance between the much-needed development of power capacity and emissions arising from development.

Vyakaranam continues, “The energy sector is currently the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in South Africa, emitting close to 250 million tonnes (MT) of carbon dioxide equivalent. With more capacity additions underway, wind power will account for reductions to greenhouse gas emissions in South Africa by an estimated 6.4 MT in 2020 and then 12.7 MT in 2025.”

Wind energy capacity addition will be driven by South Africa’s landmark Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). Last year, the Minister of Energy, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, announced that she would approach the National Energy Regulator (NERSA) to make arrangements to offer an additional 6.3 GW in future auctions.

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08/30/2016 0 comment

Renewable Energy

South Africa’s Largest Solar PV Project Completed

written by saurabh

South Africa’s largest solar power project has now achieved full operational capacity giving a major and yet another boost to the country’s landmark Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme.

Earlier this month, South Africa’s energy minister launched a 90 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power project in the Northern Cape province. Combined with an 85 MW project at the same location the entire complex, of 175 MW capacity, is the largest solar power project in the country, an perhaps the African continent and the southern hemisphere.

The De Aar projects, that form the 175 MW solar power complex, have been developed by Solar Capital, a subsidiary of Phelan Holdings. The projects were secured by the company through the competitive auctions under the various phases of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

The entire complex is spread over 473 hectares and includes over half a million solar power modules. Power generated from the complex will be able to power about 75,000 homes in South Africa. Chairman of Phelan Holdings at the launch of the new project said that, “The Northern Cape of South Africa has some of the highest irradiation levels in the world, with the location of this facility boasting 2168kWh/m². This allows the abundant sunlight in the region to be converted into green energy to be transferred to the national energy grid.”

The REIPPPP has been very successful so far and, as a result, the South African government, last year, decided to increase the capacity addition target under the programme. The initial plan under the REIPPPP was to offer just 3,725 MW, however, the response of the developers has clearly been overwhelming. In April last year, the energy minister announced that she would approach the National Energy Regulator (NERSA) to make arrangements to offer an additional 6.3 GW in future auctions.

03/21/2016 0 comment