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South Africa Renewable Energy

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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July 4, 2017 0 comment

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.

April 30, 2017 0 comment

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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March 5, 2017 0 comment

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.

February 13, 2017 0 comment

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.

February 13, 2017 0 comment

South African Utility Eskom Threatened With Legal Action For Its Alleged Preference To Nuclear Over Renewables

written by saurabh

The South African Renewable Energy Council has suggested that the country’s utility may soon face legal action for its decision not to sign fresh power purchase agreements with renewable energy projects.

According to media reports, the council chairman has suggested that Eskom has not done enough to promote the advancement of renewable energy infrastructure in the country. While the utility is bound to signed PPAs and procure electricity from renewable energy projects auctioned by the government, the company has stopped doing so citing transmission constraints.

The council stated that this approach by the utility has jeopardised renewable energy investments worth $3.63 billion and has put thousands of jobs at risk. Additionally, it has also raised doubts about the future of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement auction programme. In 2015 the Minister of Energy, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, has announced that she would approach the National Energy Regulator (NERSA) to make arrangements to offer an additional 6.3 GW in future auctions.

January 15, 2017 0 comment

South African Utility Eskom Refuses To Sign 100 MW CSP Deal

written by saurabh

Eskom has landed the first blow to the South African renewable energy market.

SolarReserve-backed concentrated solar power project of 100 MW capacity will not be able to inject power into the grid thanks to a refusal by Eskom to sign a 20-year power purchase agreement with the project.

The decision not to signed the PPA spells doom for the project which represents R50 billion (US$3.8 billion) in investment.

The refusal to sign PPA comes days after 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.

SolarReserve had won the rights to develop the project through competitive auctions under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme. The 100 MW project was secured at a tariff of US¢12.4/kWh. The project also has 12-hour storage facility based on molten salts.

In the past, 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.

The refusal to sign a PPA has also raised doubts about the future of the REIPPP programme. 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.

August 16, 2016 0 comment