- South African Department of Mineral Resources (DMRE) has announced preferred bidders to procure short-term risk-mitigation capacity.
- The programme will support projects based on solar PV, wind, liquified natural gas (LNG) and battery storage.
- This programme could help determine the short-term future of solar and wind energy projects in South Africa.
The South African Department of Mineral Resources (DMRE) has released the list of bidders preferred for the procurement of 2 GW of short-term risk-mitigation capacity, called the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP). The eight preferred bidders include ACWA Power Project DAO; Karpowership SA Coega; Karpowership SA Richards Bay; Karpowership SA Saldanha; Mulilo Total Coega; Mulilo Total Hydra Storage; Oya Energy Hybrid Facility; and Umoyilanga Energy.
According to the DMRE, the special vehicle programme will support projects based on solar PV, wind, liquified natural gas (LNG) and battery storage. The tariffs proposed range from R1,468 ($99.8) per MWh to R1,885 per MWh, with an average of ZAR 1,575 per MWh. According to the DMRE, the eight projects will inject a total private sector investment of R45 billion into the South African economy. It is also expected that South African companies participation would be about 51%, with black ownership standing at 41%.
Floating LNG powered plants made up about 60% of the tender capacity. While it is hard to see how these floating power plants can compete on price and local content with clean energy projects, they could help determine the short-term future of power projects in South Africa would be led by LNG or solar and wind energy.