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SAWEA believes that its members can ramp up wind energy output.
- The government has initiated a new programme for additional power from installed wind and solar plants.
- SAWEA believes that new capacity is needed to boost South Africa’s falling generation capacity.
The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) is met with its members to determine their capacity to generate more power following the recent call for additional energy from existing Independent Power Producers (IPPs) by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).
The DMRE proposed programme intends to get clean energy IPPs to procure additional clean energy beyond that agreed to on their existing PPAs. The CEO of SAWEA, Ntombifuthi Ntuli, noted that the recent call us a welcome development. Several association members believe that they can increase their installed wind turbine output to increase energy generation.
South Africa has suffered from energy shortages for a while as generation is far below demand. The government has made efforts to reduce the deficit via special programmes aimed at increasing generation, including the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
Ntuli noted that Eskom’s Electricity Availability Factor has been below recommended levels for a very long time; hence the load shedding ongoing in the country. She noted that both long and short term new generation capacity is needed to boost available capacity.