- The Northern Cape provincial grid can’t accommodate additional clean energy projects.
- However, developers will need to site projects in other parts of the Country.
According to Eskom’s recently published Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA) report, there is a limited available connection capacity for renewable energy projects in the Northern Cape grid. Most of South Africa’s renewable energy projects are located in the Northern Cape due to the abundant wind and solar resources. According to estimates, about 70 per cent of new PV and 60 per cent of wind project developments are located there. According to Eskom, the region’s provincial grid will likely not take additional projects without an upgrade.
Many stakeholders see this as an opportunity to diversify the siting of the country’s renewable energy capacity. Scatec sub-Saharan Africa’s GM Jan Fourie believes developers should look towards other provinces such as the Western Cape, North West, Free State, or Limpopo to site their projects. Fourie believes that this would enable the energy transition process to spread across many parts, benefiting other communities. “This creates an opportunity for a more socially just transition to cleaner energy, resulting in a fairer distribution of skills and jobs across more provinces,” he adds.
Fourie believes that developing more projects in other parts of the country will create, especially employing people currently employed in the coal mining sector.