- The bid includes 615MW of battery storage and 5GW renewable power generation.
- South Africa has completed 90 renewable energy projects to date.
South Africa has launched bidding rounds for 5,000 megawatts (MW) of new power generation capacity from renewable sources and 615 MW of battery storage. This bid opening comes as the country fights to overcome power outages. The government also seeks a 2,000MW natural gas-fired plant capacity, in line with previously disclosed plans to speed up gas-fired capacity development.
In a statement, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy said they had invited three requests for proposals (RFPs) from independent power producers (IPPs) for the abovementioned capacities. South Africa has faced rolling blackouts, with almost daily power cuts due to breakdowns at its old coal-fired power plants. Officials have said the country needs approximately 6,000MW of new capacity to overcome the energy deficit. Although the government has about 5,5000MW of renewable capacity in the pipeline, it is expected to come online by 2026.
In a written response to the country’s parliament, South Africa’s energy minister, Gwede Mantashe, said the country had completed the construction of 90 renewable energy projects. All of these projects are now operational and connected to the grid, where they have added approximately 6,180MW capacity. Also, another nine projects, totalling more than 1,000 MW, are currently under construction.