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project that has taken a huge step towards renewables because not only The utility of the national grid is not meeting the energy needs of the people, but the global community is also encouraging the break from dependence on fossil fuels.

Addressing the media after a business visit to Saudi Arabia, President Cyril Ramaphosa said negotiations with the kingdom were a springboard for many energy initiatives at the national level.

Ramaphosa said Saudi Arabia believes South Africa is the best base for independent power producers (IPPs) in the world. ACWA Power of Saudi Arabia is currently investing and developing massively in South Africa.

Ramaphosa, however, notes a loophole that plagues businesses:

“Another company said that although they wanted to ship goods to South Africa, they found our port system too much. slow and bureaucratic…we’ve kept that in mind.

In July this year, the President announced the opening of green energy investment opportunities worth about $8.5 billion (R1 40 billion) to the country. The Just Green Light Transition Framework offers policy considerations for equitably transitioning the workforce from coal production to renewable energy.

Money is committed by UK, US, Germany, France and EU. Ramaphosa said the framework calls for expansion of renewable energy, battery storage, new energy vehicles, green minerals and a hydrogen economy.

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ACWA Power

• 100MW

• R11.6 billion

ACWA Power has given the green light to the Redstone Solar Power Plant in the Northern Cape, which has a cost of Rs 11.6 billion and is expected to enter commercial operation in fourth quarter of 2023. Ramaphosa added that the country’s IPP has made ACWA’s business significantly profitable.

Scatec

• 540MW

• R28.8 billion

In the middle of this year, Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec announced that it would begin construction of three renewable energy projects in the Northern Cape.

“This project is the first of its kind and will be one of the largest solar and battery installations in the world. We now look forward to starting construction on this unique and exciting project that will be a major contributor to the South African economy and the green energy sector,” said Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog.

These projects are part of the government’s Risk Reduction Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (RMIPPPP) and aim to bring a total of 540Mw solar capacity and storage batteries online.

Soetwater Wind Farm

• 147MW

• R3.5 billion

Italy’s Enel Green Power has also embarked on the development of wind farms around the country, with the latest failure being R3.5 billion rands. Also located in the North Cape, the new Soetwater farm is the seventh in the country and will be able to produce 585 Gwh per year.

The UK has followed in making South Africa the home of its new energy projects after a case study comparing African countries found South Africa to be the best bet for green energy development. The UK Government proposes the following potential projects:

• Green hydrogen production

• Development of onshore wind farms

• Development of utility solar projects

Together with the initiative ​​In a recent transition, Ramaphosa has announced an energy crisis plan that sets forth regulations to accelerate power generation projects and reduce the red tape associated with renewable energy project requirements.

The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, said that under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Program (REIPPP), South Africa has 32 new wind power projects, which have contributed 3,000 MW of energy. quantity.

Eskom

Eskom National Electric Company, which is struggling to keep the lights on nationwide, recently announced that it will help the nation in launching its own renewable energy projects. me.

On October 15, Eskom announced that it had contracted four renewable energy companies to build new renewable energy facilities on land owned by the electricity company.

This is the first series of lease agreements signed with private companies. It covers plots of land near the Mpumalanga power stations in Majuba and Tutuka.

According to Eskom, the four IPPs will lease 6,184 hectares of land for a term of 25 to 30 years and contribute about 2,000 MW to the national grid.

Such developments are just the beginning, with utilities sector CEO Andre de Ruyter saying the country needs to spend around R1 trillion by 2030 to ensure sufficient electricity generation.

The CEO said Eskom continues to recommend focusing on renewable energy systems delivering thousands of MW through new projects, including:

• 3500 MW of renewable energy projects. Seriti

• 2,000 MW from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) on land leased MW from REIPPP 5 projects

• 5,200 MW from REIPPP 6 projects 4,444 • 7,000 + MW from other projects 4,444 ________________________________________ 4,444 Delays 4 444 However, the growing renewable energy sector has encountered obstacles, of which the government is the most important. State-owned Eskom has failed to deliver on its plan to add renewables to the grid.

Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) Executive Director Busi Mavuso said government delays, corruption and bureaucracy were the causes of the failure.

The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Program (REIPPP) projects sought to bring independent renewable electricity producers online who could help the country transition away from coal, but the chances of bidding for their supply are very poor.

Mavuso said the department had planned to achieve financial results for the fifth-round bid within six months of announcing the winners on October 29, 2021 – but that did not come to fruition. real.

“Since 2015, South Africa has not experienced a smooth procurement process.” The REIPPP program has been plagued with problems since the fourth round was delayed in 2015. Development of new energy systems.

The governor of South Africa’s central bank has urged the government to stick to the debt reduction plan, so that the National Treasury prepares to issue medium-term fiscal policy. announced next week.

“Fiscal consolidation is necessary and not restrictive,” Lesetja Kganyago told a forum hosted by former President Kgalema Motlanthe’s foundation in southeastern South Africa on Friday.

“Debt stabilization reduces risk and allows interest rates to fall on the yield curve. It would also avoid fiscal dominance, where central banks would lose the ability to protect the value of currencies due to fiscal failure. Finance Minister

Enoch Godongwana will present his second medium-term budget on Wednesday. The Treasury faces growing pressure to agree to civil servants’ demand for an inflation-fighting wage increase and an extension of the monthly social allowance of 350 rand ($19) that will thwart plans to rein in inflation. budget deficit and control the skyrocketing public debt.

South Africa’s public finances deteriorated dramatically during the nearly nine-year rule of former President Jacob Zuma, when corruption was rampant and public procurement budgets plundered. Losing state-owned enterprises, including the electric power company Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., have received a flurry of bailouts and the government has repeatedly failed to rein in their wage bills.

Zuma was forced to resign in 2018.

Recent success in rebuilding fiscal reserves means the country is better positioned to deal with the deteriorating global economic outlook, Kganyago said in an interview with Bloomberg last week.

The primary budget deficit, South Africa’s most important fiscal anchor, narrowed more than expected in the year to March 2022, and the public debt-to-raw domestic product ratio also exceeded estimates of the national treasury, according to central bank figures