Page 14 - Energize June 2021

NEWS

Wind power producers discuss possibility implemented,” said Ntuli.
South Africa has been plagued with power
of providing surplus power immediately shortages for a long time due to demand
exceeding available supply capacity. This is despite
Government’s efforts to implement a number of
he South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), has engaged with its members programmes to try and close the capacity gap, which
to ascertain if the sector is able to provide additional power, in line with the recent include the announcement of preferred bidders for
Tcall for additional energy from existing Independent Power Producers (IPPs) by the the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer
Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) and issuing
The DMRE’s proposed ‘Additional Megawatt Programme’ will see the Department of the Renewable Energy Independent Power
entering into agreements with existing renewables IPPs to procure additional energy that Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) Round
wind and solar farms could supply, over and above what is currently allowed under their 5 Request for Proposals (RFP) as well as announcing
existing Power Purchase Agreements. future procurement plans.
“We welcome this call from government and can confirm that several of our IPP “Eskom’s Electricity Availability Factor has been
members have indicated that they will be responding, as they are of the view that it is below recommended levels for a very long time, as
possible to run their wind turbine generators (WTG) at higher power output or include a demonstrated by the protracted load shedding that
power boost to increase generation output of already installed wind turbines,” explained our country has been experiencing for well over
Ntombifuthi Ntuli, CEO of SAWEA. a decade now. This indicates an urgent need to
She added that the industry will be seeking clarification on practical details of the procure new generation capacity, both in the long
‘Additional Megawatt Programme’, but that the response has been positive overall. term and short term, in order to bring the available
Additionally, it can be noted that late 2019, when the country reached unprecedented Stage capacity to healthy levels again,” added Ntuli.
6 load shedding, SAWEA called for the immediate release of available additional capacity She also stated that it is clear from the response,
from operational wind farms into the national grid, by lifting the Maximum Export Capacity that the wind industry is committed to cooperating
(MEC) on all operating wind farms. with government and participating in such initiatives
“Earlier this month, the IPP Office issued a call to all operational IPPs with projects in Bid in order to address the current power crisis.
Window 1 to 4, to make available additional capacity from their operational plants, in order
to contribute towards closing the power supply capacity gap. It is therefore encouraging Contact SAWEA, Tel 010 007-5655,
to see that industry proposals are being taken seriously by government and are now being admin@sawea.co.za

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