South Africa to begin procurement program

The South African government is set to begin the procurement program for the country’s long-awaited renewable energy project next month.

Despite 384 potential suppliers outlining proposals for the project, fewer than 30 were likely to take part in a full procurement process. According to the Department of Energy (DoE), environmental impact assessments were a major stumbling block.

South Africa wants at least 16 per cent of its energy to be generated from renewable sources within the next two decades.

Around a third of the proposals were for wind power projects, and these accounted for 70 per cent of the total capacity. Solar PV programs accounted for another third of submissions, but made up only 15 per cent of the potential energy capacity.

The tender process will be co-ordinated by the DoE and the public/private partnership unit of the National Treasury after concerns were raised over a possible conflict of interest regarding the role of the state provider Eskom as a potential procurer and supplier.

Read more here.