While SA's energy department and Eskom continue to drag their feet in signing power purchase agreements with the renewables industry, Cape Town has once again reiterated its commitment to purchase clean energy directly from independent power producers (IPPs).
Executive mayor Patricia de Lille addressed the Cape Town Climate Change Coalition last night, providing an update on the new climate change initiatives in the city.
She pointed out that the city plans to generate its own renewable energy.
In order to do this, Cape Town's new energy directorate has been tasked with transforming the energy landscape, whereby the city is not only a distributor of electricity but also generates its own clean energy, according to De Lille.
We want Capetonians to have a greater choice over how they consume energy and the price they pay for it, she said.
"We intend to contract with IPPs of renewable energy and will pursue this relentlessly; using all available means with national government to ensure it is achieved."
"I have said previously that we are going to take the minister of energy to court to fight for our right to purchase renewable energy directly from IPPs," De Lille adds.
According to the mayor, they have briefed the "best legal counsel" in SA to get clarity on the best way forward in terms of claiming the city's right to purchase electricity from whom it so chooses.
"This will be a complex legal battle but it must be understood that we are doing this not just because we want to buy electricity from IPPs, but because we believe the whole institutional regime governing energy in the country is completely outdated and needs to be reformed."
De Lille pointed out Cape Town plans to act boldly against climate change and is committed to source 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Shifting goalposts
Coal is SA's dominant energy source, with 77% of the country's energy needs being provided by this mineral.
In 2011, SA introduced the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, a competitive auction for renewable energy projects.
However, the renewables industry has been kept on the backburner as the signing of new agreements has been delayed numerous times.
It was expected that new energy minister Mmamoloko Kubayi would sign the outstanding contracts on 11 April; however, her office asked that the signing be delayed.
The delay in the energy department and the country's power utility signing the power purchase agreements is seen as a tactic to forge ahead with the trillion-rand nuclear deal.
De Lille explained the decision to diversify Cape Town's energy supply and reduce carbon emissions is to act boldly on climate change for the sake of residents, the economy and saving the planet.
The city has also introduced a draft Climate Change Policy, she stated.
"The impact of climate change has the ability to compound existing challenges in urban environments...
"We therefore need to see the opportunities presented by climate change and factor in our response to climate change in all the work we do so that we can build more resilient cities."
Share