Dear Editor
Utility-scale Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the Western Cape have produced a total of 8 272 GWh of energy since the inception of the national Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program. This equates to approximately 1 576 GWh of renewable energy generated annually.
This was revealed by the Provincial Minister of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT), Mireille Wenger, in reply to a DA parliamentary question.
The electricity from these IPPs is fed directly onto the national grid to ease some of the pressure Eskom faces, and a total of 592 MW of renewable energy is currently in operation in the Province. While this is still far from solving the energy crisis, it does show that renewable energy is already an important source of supplementary energy.
Minister Wenger has also revealed that the electricity shortfall in the Western Cape is estimated to be between 360-660MW. However, thanks to the Provincial Government’s Municipal Energy Resilience (MER) Initiative, municipalities are being empowered to procure electricity from IPPs to be added to their local grids. This initiative is on track to add 500MW of electricity to Western Cape municipalities by 2025, meaning more time spent with the lights on for Western Cape residents.
DEDAT has done sterling work in creating the environment wherein IPPs can flourish.
Notable interventions from the Department include:
- Work on the enablement of electricity wheeling on municipal grids, which will allow private sector entities to transport power over the grid to another business, organisation or location, while ensuring that costs are allocated correctly.
- Enabling the private sector to take up renewable energy through direct (business queries, events) and indirect (market intelligence reports, industry briefs, case studies, website) engagements with energy sector businesses.
- Engagement with large electricity users in the province that will inform municipal infrastructure planning.
- Promoting the uptake of small-scale embedded generation, with 21 out of 24 municipalities allowing small scale renewable energy onto local grids.
Innovation is necessary to overcome the failings of Eskom, and the Western Cape Government is devoting significant resources to delivering alternative solutions to the energy crisis.
Rgards
Gillion Bosman, MPP
DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism
