South African solar representatives have come on board a campaign to ensure the installation of renewable plants can resume in May, coinciding with a relaxation of national lockdown measures.
This week, a letter co-signed by national bodies for PV (SAPVIA), wind (SAWEA), energy storage (SAESA), thermal solar (STASA) and broader renewables (SAREC) called on the government to include green energy construction in the list of sectors allowed back to work starting next month.
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The government of president Cyril Ramaphosa – who is consulting the country over which activities should resume when South Africa’s lockdown eases from level 5 to 4 on 1 May – should consider renewables’ contribution to electricity supply and economic recovery, the associations said.
In their missive, the organisations argued the green energy sector is already “accustomed to operating in a controlled environment” and has enacted “strict health [and] safety protocols”. Any additional requirements can be “easily accommodated” if construction resumes, the letter said.
To bolster their case, SAPVIA and the other associations pointed at the 2.23GW large-scale enewable pipeline they said currently lies under construction. According to their records (see table below), solar accounts for an 800MW-plus share of that total.
There is also, the letter said, the separate 800MW pipeline of embedded generation projects to consider. These privately-owned facilities “provide mitigation to the high risk of load shedding as the economy reopens,” the associations claimed.
South Africa’s plans for a phased reopening of its economy in May follow the roll-out of strict lockdown measures on 27 March. The quarantine has paralysed the work of solar EPCs – Spain’s Gransolar included – and brought delays to the processing of IPP project applications.
In South Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic comes after bumpy years for its REIPPP renewables procurement programme, launched in 2011. In early 2019, the government said it was mulling the renegotiation of existing PPAs to ease the financial burdens of offtaker and state-run utility Eskom.
Renewable players – who have faced off a REIPPPP legal challenge from coal truckers – hailed last October the government’s allocation of a new 6GW of solar, coupled the following month by plans for three new ”fast-tracking” renewable energy zones.
The 800MW-plus of under-construction solar in South Africa
| Solar project name | Capacity (MW) | Province | Town |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bokamoso | 67.9 | North West | Matlosana |
| Aggeneys Solar Project | 40 | Northern Cape | Aggeneys |
| Zeerust | 75 | North West | Ramotshere Moiloa |
| Waterloo Solar Park | 75 | North West | Vryburg |
| Solar Capital Orange | 75 | Northern Cape | Loeriesfontein |
| Sirius Solar PV Project One | 75 | Northern Cape | Upington |
| Konkoonsies II Solar Facility | 75 | Northern Cape | Pofadder |
| Greefspan PV Power Plant No. 2 Solar Park | 55 | Northern Cape | Douglas |
| Dyason’s Klip 1 | 75 | Northern Cape | Upington |
| Dyason’s Klip 2 | 75 | Northern Cape | Upington |
| Droogfontein 2 Solar | 75 | Northern Cape | Kimberley |
| De Wildt | 50 | North West | Brits |
Source: SAPVIA, SAWEA, SAESA, STASA, SAREC
PV Tech has set up a dedicated tracker to map out how the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting solar supply chains worldwide. You can read the latest updates here.
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