The government has signed the first round of agreements with independent power producers that will see an initial 1 400 megawatts of renewable energy being added to South Africa’s energy mix, while bringing an estimated R47billion in new investment into the country.

The signing ceremony, involving 28 approved bidders from the first window of the Department of Energy’s renewable energy programme for independent power producers (REIPPP), took place in Pretoria on Monday of this week.While the majority of the bidders are foreign companies, 67 South African companies have formed partnerships with them so there is good local content.

The 28 projects, involving an estimated R47-billion in new investments, are spread across some of South Africa’s most rural and least developed provinces, including the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Limpopo, North West and the Free State and the solar and wind projects will be integrated into the Eskom grid by 2014.

The commitments the bidders have undertaken include community development initiatives within a 50-kilometre radius of each project. The bidders have collectively committed R2 billion towards socio-economic development, and R1 billion towards empowering women in the energy field.

Eskom executive Kannan Lakmeeheran said the signing ceremony was a significant milestone for South Africa, adding that the state power utility could not meet the country’s energy requirements on its own.

“The electricity industry, as we increasingly see, will be one of a hybrid nature, with Eskom still retaining a significant position but a vibrant private sector developing too. The industry will be driven by the need for security of supply and climate change concerns, energy efficiency and technological advancements. It will look very different in 2030 to the way it looks now.”

He added that Eskom, which would be signing power purchase agreements with each of the bidders, looked forward to connecting the new power producers to the national grid and buying power from them.

SAnews.gov.za