South Africa awards 1GW of solar projects to 13 IPPs in latest auction
The weighted average price of the preferred bidders for both solar and wind was R470/MWh (US$30.1/MWh) Image: Scatec.
South Africa’s latest renewables procurement window, the Renewable Energy IPP Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), has awarded solar independent power producers (IPPs) 1GW out of a total of 2.6GW of capacity.
The announcement was made by Gwede Mantashe, South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, during a press conference that can be viewed online here.
In total, the 25 selected bidders from both solar and wind were awarded a total of 2583MW, 17MW short of the target. The 25 projects will invest a total of R50 billion (US$3.3 billion).
The weighted average price of the preferred bidders for both solar and wind was R470/MWh (US$30.1/MWh), with solar averaging R429/MW (US$28.1/MW).
Winning bidders are required to reach financial close for their projects by March 2022 and connect the installations to the grid no later than April 2024. They have also committed to procuring almost half of all solar components used in construction from South African suppliers, against a target of 40%.
The winning 13 solar IPPs are as follows:
- Grootfontein PV 1
- Grootfontein PV 2
- Grootfontein PV 3
- Grootspruit Solar PV Project
- Graspan Solar PV Project
- Sannaspos Solar PV Project
- Du Plessis Dam Solar PV 1
- Kentani Solar Facility
- Klipfontein Solar Facility
- Klipfontein 2 Solar Facility
- Leliehoek Solar Facility
- Braklaagte Solar Facility
- Sonoblomo Solar Facility
The programme attracted a total of 102 bids, with capacity totalling 9.64GW.
BySean Rai-Roche