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  • SA’s renewables adoption must be on ‘steroids’, says minister

SA’s renewables adoption must be on ‘steroids’, says minister

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 01 Oct 2024
In order to build a strong renewable energy sector, “we must build confidence in the system”, says minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
In order to build a strong renewable energy sector, “we must build confidence in the system”, says minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.

South Africa is determined to be “ultra-aggressive” in onboarding renewable energy sources.

This is according to electricity and energy minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, speaking yesterday during the Ministerial Renewable Energy Seminar, held in Midrand, under the theme: “Advancing renewable energy: A comprehensive review of the IPP procurement process”.

Ramokgopa told the gathering it is in the “collective interest” to accelerate the renewable energy programme.

His comments come as SA is increasingly adding renewable energy sources to the national grid, in a bid to boost energy security.

This, as some of the country’s coal-fired power plants are reaching their end of life. With renewables, SA is also looking to minimise over-reliance on fossil fuels.

The onboarding of renewables “must be on steroids, but we can only achieve that if we resolve the issues you are going to share with us today. I think the future is renewables,” the minister said.

“We must resolve the issues of permitting and licensing, and the speed because capital has got choices. It’s not like capital is waiting and waiting for South Africa to resolve its problems. It is in our interest to ensure we are greedy in how we want to consume this capital, and that greed will be displayed in the manner and the enthusiasm with which we are resolving the major impediments in this instance.

“We want to capture all these opportunities…for the greater good of the region,” Ramokgopa said.

In order to build a strong renewable energy sector, “we must build confidence in the system”, the minister stressed.

“We are going to be a bit more aggressive in onboarding renewables, but I think that statement is hollow if we are not able to address the attendant challenges, the inherent weaknesses in the system.

“We must build confidence in the system going into the future, firstly, by illustrating our ability to resolve the challenges that have afflicted the previous bid windows.

“[Being aggressive means] going out to procure the megawatts that are of a scale and proportion that we have not done before. But if we have not resolved the inherent challenges, that statement will be put to waste because we will not be able to achieve that which we desire.

“It’s important that we have that conversation and I urge you [stakeholders] to be very candid.”

Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, electricity and energy minister.
Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, electricity and energy minister.

The minister said his department wants to gather as much information as possible to improve on SA’s Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.

“We are here to listen on how best we can improve. Once we have listened…we will action. We really want industry to thrive for us to make South Africa the preferred destination for this capital [and] for us to run the most ambitious and successful of all renewable programmes from a public procurement point of view.

“[We want] the best one, not just on the continent, not just in the Global South but something that is of envy across the globe.”

More engagements needed

The solar photovoltaics (PV) industry welcomed Ramokgopa’s comments during the seminar.

“We congratulate the minister for his openness to meet with industry and we look forward to more detailed engagements with him on the IRP [Integrated Resource Plan] and the SAREM [South African Renewable Energy Masterplan],” says Dr Rethabile Melamu, CEO of the Solar PV Industry Association (SAPVIA).

The organisation also concurs on the important role renewable energy has in the country’s plans.

“The minister is correct when he says this is why we need to be ultra-aggressive to onboard renewables. At the same time, we agree with him that we also need to resolve the project development and grid issues that hamper the full realisation of the potential that renewable energy holds,” says Melamu.

“SAPVIA acknowledges government’s desire to protect the solar PV manufacturing capability and to expand it in the medium- to long-term in line with the ideals of the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan.

“To this end, we noted the deputy DG’s [director-general’s] comments in the seminar that SA could not compete with China on panel pricing and that other items needed to be localised. We must ask then why it was needed to introduce the 10% import duty,” says Melamu.

The duty was announced in July.

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