South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has received 102 bids for 2.6 GW of renewable energy projects. Of the bids received, 63 were for solar projects while 39 were for wind projects. The announcement follows South Africa’s fifth renewable energy tender, floated in March 2021 for 2.6 GW of clean energy projects.
Under South Africa’s renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme (REIPPPP), 1.6 GW was scheduled to come from wind and 1 GW from solar plants. The bid submission deadline was 16 August 2021.
Solar projects with a capacity of up to 75 MW are eligible. The list of successful bidders is scheduled to be released in October or November, with winning bidders having until March 2022 to complete the financial close on their projects. By April 2024, all installed projects must be connected to the grid.
The REIPPP program is a competitive tendering process in South Africa that aims to encourage private sector investment in grid-connected renewable energy generation. Under the REIPPPP program, South Africa also intends to launch four more tenders over the next twelve months. Aside from the 2.6 GW of renewable energy capacity, tenders for 3 GW of gas, 1.5 GW of coal, and 513 MW of battery storage are expected to be released.
