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Cape Town's proposed second big commercial airport, the Cape Winelands Airport (CWA), should receive its first passengers in 2027, says RSA.Aero MD Nick Ferguson.

RSA.Aero is the project developer, with the first phase expected to cost between R5-billion and R7-billion.

Phase 1 will include a 3.5 km runway, taxiways, the terminal building and road infrastructure.

The airport will be located in Durbanville, on the northern outskirts of Cape Town.

CWA's customers are expected to come from Cape Town, as well as the nearby Stellenbosch, Paarl, Wellington and the West Coast.

CWA will be partially built on the site of the current 155 ha Fisantekraal Airport, a private airport handling mainly general aviation.

This facility was built in 1943 by the Allied Forces to protect the South African coastline during World War Two.

The new development will see the site expand to 450 ha in Phase 1, in a northerly direction, and, ultimately, potentially, to the full 884 ha owned by RSA.Aero.

"We'll expand incrementally and in line with demand," Ferguson tells Engineering News Online. "But the aim is to add hotels, cargo facilities, aeroplane maintenance sites, a conference centre and much more."

"People always ask if CWA will be like the privately owned Lanseria, in Johannesburg," he adds.

"The answer is yes, but it will be bigger, with a longer runway that can accommodate wide-body aeroplanes - which means it will be able to handle more international traffic, from more destinations, compared with Lanseria."

RSA.Aero has already started the environmental impact assessment on the project.

Ferguson aims to have this finished by early next year, with construction to start once the project has been given the green light.

Construction will take approximately two years, with the first scheduled traffic set to land in 2027.

Ferguson is upbeat about the airport's potential, as Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) cannot currently accommodate A380s - the world largest commercial passenger aircraft and the largest contingent in the Emirates fleet, for example.

Also: "Johannesburg is mainly a transit hub for most tourists. They land there and immediately fly on to other destinations. If Cape Town is their final destination, then why not fly there directly?"

CTIA is owned and operated by State-owned Airports Company South Africa (ACSA).

Does this not place the privately owned CWA in direct competition with CTIA?

Yes, admits Ferguson, but all major world-class cities have more than one airport.

"Look at London, New York and Sydney - even our neighbour Windhoek has two airports."

While the current Fisantekraal site is licensed as an airport, this licence will have to be expanded for the airport to handle bigger aircraft and more traffic.

It also has to be classified as a designated airport, which will allow it to handle scheduled traffic.

This process is mainly centred around airport security.

"This means that if we achieve the desired milestones, we'll get this licence," says Ferguson.

The more challenging matter will be an application to the national Department of Transport (DoT) for the site be licensed as an international airport.

"This immediately means that the Border Management Authority becomes involved, and if you do not have buy-in here, you'll struggle to clear this hurdle," says Ferguson.

"But, we believe we can show national government the immense value of building the Winelands airport, especially to international carriers and the environment.

"We already have the written support of the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government."

Ferguson says RSA.Aero is in the process of handing in its international licence application to the DoT.

Heavy Hitters

RSA.Aero is certainly not short on experience and knowledge to succeed in its licence application, as it has some heavy hitters on it...

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Tshwane and eThekwini could see the rollout of 39 electric commuter buses by the end of next year.

The introduction of the zero-emissions vehicles will form part of a pilot project funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), and managed by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI).

SANEDI, which has been appointed by DBSA as the implementing agent, says the project will see the procurement of 39 electric buses (e-buses) and the associated charging infrastructure, enabled by the $4.7-million in funding that the bank secured from GEF.

"Our objective with this project is to pave the way for the country to shift to electric mobility in the near future," says SANEDI cleaner mobility programme project manager Tebogo Snyer.

The e-bus project was initiated by DBSA in consultation with a number of municipalities that indicated they were interested to participate.

Conceptualisation started in 2018. Covid-19, however, halted the project.

Work resumed in 2022, and by late last year DBSA managed to secure the necessary funding.

In terms of the project scope, the City of Tshwane will be allocated 20 buses and eThekwini 19.

In both cities electricity infrastructure will be upgraded and charging facilities installed, says SANEDI.

"The project will be implemented over a period of five years, with half the buses being commissioned in the first two years and the rest at a later stage."

"During this time, we will demonstrate the technical, operational, legal, economic and other feasibility factors, and bed down the specifications of the ecosystem needed to support e-buses in South Africa," notes Snyer.

Drivers will also be trained on how to safely operate an e-bus and manage charging cycles.

The first e-buses are expected to be on the road in the next 18 to 24 months.

Snyer says that although the intention is to procure local goods as far as possible, the e-bus "will have to be imported as no local manufacturing capacity exists as yet".

SANEDI indicates that once the project reaches the procurement stage - expected in six to eight months - "an open tender process will follow".

Cleaner Mobility

"Our view is that electric vehicle (EV) technology leads the cleaner mobility field and will continue to do so for the next decade or so," says Snyer.

He expects the technology to revolutionise the transport sector in the next three to five years on the back of improved and cheaper batteries, which will also lower the cost of ownership significantly.

Currently, SANEDI believes the total of cost of ownership is 5% to 10% less than internal combustion buses, however, the much higher upfront price tags on e-buses are limiting adoption.

The main selling points currently are the absence of emissions and the opportunity to have an alternative to pricey imported diesel.

As for the impact of adding EVs to the national grid, Snyer says that switching from internal combustion engines to EVs in significant quantities will add additional load to the power grid, albeit of a different kind.

However, he believes the impact can be managed with smart project planning that ensures e-bus fleets are charged during off-peak periods.

The pilot project's scope includes technical grid-impact analyses.

"We want to prepare South Africa for the future," says Snyer.

"When [e-bus] costs start to come down, local municipalities should be ready to implement the technology that will improve public transport, while also reducing its environmental impact."

* MAN Truck & Bus South Africa aims to start assembly of electric buses at its plant in Durban this year. The company's Lion's Explorer E electric bus is currently being tested by Golden Arrow Bus Services in Cape Town, along with electric buses from China's BYD.

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the efforts being made to reinvigorate South Africa's public procurement of new electricity capacity after recent disappointments and amid ongoing loadshedding, as well as the key messages that emerged from bidders’ conferences on the country's new renewables, battery and gas bid windows.

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While 'location agnostic', South Africa's inaugural 2000 MW gas-to-power (GtP) procurement round is limiting the development of facilities in the City of uMhlathuze, where KwaZulu-Natal's deep-water Port of Richards Bay has been earmarked as a future gas hub, to 1 000 MW - a threshold that will be breached only if the remaining allocation it not taken up elsewhere in the country.

Besides this restriction, the first bid window (BW1) of the Gas Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (GIPPPP) states that facilities can be located anywhere within the borders of South Africa and must be land based.

However, a further 1 000 MW of GtP has also been specifically reserved for deployment in the Eastern Cape's Coega Special Economic Zone, to be procured through a two-phase process that is expected to be launched before the end of March, when a request for qualifications will be published ahead of a request for proposals.

No immediate explanation was provided for the restriction placed on the City of uMhlathuze during GIPPPP BW1. But the decision follows the granting, last year, of a Ministerial determination to Eskom for the construction of a 3 000 MW GtP facility in Richards Bay, which would also require land in close proximity to the port.

Planning is well advanced for the creation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at the Port of Richards Bay, where volumes will be ramped up progressively over time.

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) recently selected a consortium comprising Vopak and Transnet Pipelines as the preferred bidder for a 25-year LNG terminal concession in the port's South Dunes precinct.

The terminal is currently scheduled for commissioning between March and June 2027 and bidders within uMhlathuze not making use of the terminal would have to enter into a separate agreement with TNPA for port access for storage and regasificaiton, as would be the case with other projects located in other ports.

IPP Office head Bernard Magoro confirmed during a virtual bidders' conference that the GIPPPP BW1 bid submission date remained August 30 and indicated that preferred bidders would be named following a three- to four-month evaluation phase.

They would then have six months to achieve financial close and 36 months thereafter to progress their projects to commercial operation.

GREENFIELD ONLY

GIPPPP BW1 also limits bidders to the construction of greenfield facilities, ruling out the conversion of the diesel-fuelled Avon and Dedisa open-cycle gas turbines to gas.

Projects can, however, share infrastructure with existing facilities, but such infrastructure must have unconditional and irrevocable rights in the shared infrastructure.

Plants of between 300 MW and 1 000 MW in size will be considered and they will be expected to operate at a maximum load commitment of 65% and a minimum of 40%, with Eskom to dispatch the facility in line with an agreed monthly load commitment.

The facilities, which will sell electricity to Eskom for a period of 20 years, will be compensated for capacity, energy, and ancillary services.

As with the other public procurement programmes under way for renewables and battery storage, a 90/10 evaluation methodology will apply for the GIPPPP, with 90 points for price and 10 points for the economic development aspects.

While economic development components are not a qualifying criteria, compliant projects must include 49% South African entity participation.

Compliant bids also required environmental, water-use and land authorisations, and bidders also need to apply to Eskom by February 29 for grid-connection cost estimate letters.

Bidders are also required to provide detailed term sheets with their natural gas suppliers, detailing the origin of the fuel, the delivery point, as well as confirmation that the supplier has sufficient gas...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a leading supplier of products, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

While 'location agnostic', South Africa's inaugural 2000 MW gas-to-power (GtP) procurement round is limiting the development of facilities in the City of uMhlathuze, where KwaZulu-Natal's deep-water Port of Richards Bay has been earmarked as a future gas hub, to 1 000 MW - a threshold that will be breached only if the remaining allocation it not taken up elsewhere in the country.

Besides this restriction, the first bid window (BW1) of the Gas Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (GIPPPP) states that facilities can be located anywhere within the borders of South Africa and must be land based.

However, a further 1 000 MW of GtP has also been specifically reserved for deployment in the Eastern Cape's Coega Special Economic Zone, to be procured through a two-phase process that is expected to be launched before the end of March, when a request for qualifications will be published ahead of a request for proposals.

No immediate explanation was provided for the restriction placed on the City of uMhlathuze during GIPPPP BW1. But the decision follows the granting, last year, of a Ministerial determination to Eskom for the construction of a 3 000 MW GtP facility in Richards Bay, which would also require land in close proximity to the port.

Planning is well advanced for the creation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at the Port of Richards Bay, where volumes will be ramped up progressively over time.

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) recently selected a consortium comprising Vopak and Transnet Pipelines as the preferred bidder for a 25-year LNG terminal concession in the port's South Dunes precinct.

The terminal is currently scheduled for commissioning between March and June 2027 and bidders within uMhlathuze not making use of the terminal would have to enter into a separate agreement with TNPA for port access for storage and regasificaiton, as would be the case with other projects located in other ports.

IPP Office head Bernard Magoro confirmed during a virtual bidders' conference that the GIPPPP BW1 bid submission date remained August 30 and indicated that preferred bidders would be named following a three- to four-month evaluation phase.

They would then have six months to achieve financial close and 36 months thereafter to progress their projects to commercial operation.

GREENFIELD ONLY

GIPPPP BW1 also limits bidders to the construction of greenfield facilities, ruling out the conversion of the diesel-fuelled Avon and Dedisa open-cycle gas turbines to gas.

Projects can, however, share infrastructure with existing facilities, but such infrastructure must have unconditional and irrevocable rights in the shared infrastructure.

Plants of between 300 MW and 1 000 MW in size will be considered and they will be expected to operate at a maximum load commitment of 65% and a minimum of 40%, with Eskom to dispatch the facility in line with an agreed monthly load commitment.

The facilities, which will sell electricity to Eskom for a period of 20 years, will be compensated for capacity, energy, and ancillary services.

As with the other public procurement programmes under way for renewables and battery storage, a 90/10 evaluation methodology will apply for the GIPPPP, with 90 points for price and 10 points for the economic development aspects.

While economic development components are not a qualifying criteria, compliant projects must include 49% South African entity participation.

Compliant bids also required environmental, water-use and land authorisations, and bidders also need to apply to Eskom by February 29 for grid-connection cost estimate letters.

Bidders are also required to provide detailed term sheets with their natural gas suppliers, detailing the origin of the fuel, the delivery point, as well as confirmation that the supplier has sufficient gas...

Independent Power Producer Office head Bernard Magoro reports that work is under way to identify substation sites for the upcoming third Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP) round while progressing with the second bid window (BW2) for 615 MW/2 460 MWh across eight substation sites.

Speaking during a virtual bidders' conference, Magoro acknowledged questions posed by several prospective bidders about the prospects of securing the necessary environmental authorisations in time for the sites selected for BW2, which were identified only on December 14 when the request for proposals (RFP) was published.

He reported that an effort was being made to ensure that the next set of sites were identified well ahead of the launch of BESIPPPP BW3, the RFP for which could be issued before the end of March.

"For BW3, all things being equal, we want to release the sites sooner rather than later," he said.

For BESIPPPP BW2, meanwhile, Eskom had selected eight transmission substations sites in the North West province for the programme, including Mercury, Carmel, Hermes, Ngwedi, Midas, Marang, Bighorn and Ararat.

Eskom chief engineer for transmission grid planning Caswell Ndlhovu reported that the sites were selected by a multidisciplinary team within the utility using a selection criteria governed by six principles.

These included sites where there was capacity available at all times for discharging and recharging and the provision of ancillary services; sites where losses could be minimised; areas with high system strength; areas with low existing storage concentration; and sites that could help decongest the main corridor into Gauteng for renewable electricity.

Eskom also gave a higher weighting to areas where the renewables generation would arise from solar photovoltaic, owing to the outcome of a study showing that battery storage paired less well with onshore wind from a curtailment perspective.

Using this criteria, the North West province emerged as the frontrunner location and the eight sites were subsequently selected for BESIPPPP BW2.

Under the round, the IPP Office is seeking 77-MW Battery Energy Storage Systems at each substation with four hours storage.

A minimum availability of 95% over 8 760 hours per contracted year is also stipulated and the facilities will be expected to provide instantaneous, regulating and supplementary reserves.

The bidding process is being governed by rules similar to those used during the inaugural BESIPPPP round, besides a stipulation for a minimum South African ownership of 49%, as well as the selection of reserve bidders, which could step in should the preferred bidder fail to achieve financial close within the stipulated timeframe.

A 90-10 evaluation criteria is being used, with 90 points for price and 10 points for the various economic development components, which are not qualifying criteria.

Following the first bidding round in 2023, four preferred bidders were named in late November, with negotiations under way with a fifth.

The four installations are all earmarked for development in the Northern Cape and will have a combined capacity of 360 MW/1 440 MWh, as well as a combined investment value of R10-billion.

The closing date for bid submissions under BW2 is April 30, and Magoro urged prospective bidders to meet the January 31 deadline for the application for grid-connection cost estimate letters from Eskom, which required 90 days to process.

South Africa's grid constraints are continuing to cast a shadow over the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), the seventh bidding round for which was launched in December for 3 200 MW of onshore wind and 1 800 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) after months of delay.

Independent Power Producer Office head Bernard Magoro told prospective REIPPPP Bid Window Seven (BW7) bidders during a virtual conference on January 17 that the delays were largely attributed to concerns over the availability of grid-connection capacity in the wind- and solar-rich Eastern, Western and Northern Cape provinces.

Various interventions and solutions had been considered following the partial failure of BW6, during which none of the wind projects vying for a 3 200 MW allocation were selected as preferred bids after Eskom indicated that the gird capacity on which they were premised had been consumed. Therefore, only bids for 1 000 MW of solar PV advanced to the preferred-bidder stage.

The development resulted in Eskom introducing an interim grid allocation solution that departs from the previous 'first come, first served' approach to one that prioritises so-called 'shovel-ready projects', while it also sought approval for a new 'gated' approach that would enable it to set aside specific capacity for public and private procurement cycles.

Eskom also indicated that it would adopt a new curtailment framework that could unlock immediate connection capacity in those areas that are described in its most recent Generation Connection Capacity Assessment as having 'zero' capacity. The document indicates that there is 19.9 GW of grid capacity elsewhere in the country, however.

Both proposed solutions have been submitted to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for noting and approval but they have not been integrated into the BW7 request for proposals (RFP). It does, however, include a modest change to the curtailment approach by removing the previous threshold restricting compensation for energy than could not be absorbed by the grid so as to "optimise the management of available grid capacity".

In addition, BW7 allows for bidders to bid based on grid-connection cost estimate letters (CELs) and valid budget quotes (BQs), instead of CELs alone.

There is also potential for bidders to access capacity recovered as a result of the expiry of BQs for projects that failed to achieve financial close under both BW5 and the Risk Mitigation procurement programme. Eskom announced the expiry in early January of five Risk Mitigation BQs and there is a likelihood of further expiries arising from BW5.

Nevertheless, prospective bidders for the allocation in REIPPPP BW7 could have to rely heavily on prospects outside of those regions with the most potent renewable resources, while Nersa continues to consider the new curtailment and grid allocation frameworks for future rounds.

MORE RENEWABLES, BATTERY & GAS PROCUREMENT SOON

Magoro indicated that BW8 for another 5 000 MW of renewables could be launched before the end of government's financial year, which runs to the end of March. Likewise the office is also preparing a third battery storage auction for 616 MW and a Coega-specific gas-to-power bid window, which will have a request for qualifications phase ahead of the RFP.

These would be in addition to the second bidding round under way for 615 MW of battery storage and the inaugural gas-to-power auction for 2 000 MW.

The grid, Magoro said, would remain a challenge for the future rounds. But he expressed optimism that all the components proposed for managing grid capacity and grid allocations would be in place for the upcoming bid windows.

Besides the modification to BW7's approach to curtailment, the other new elements introduced as part of the RFP include:

A reduction, from 100% to 80%, in the government guarantee framework should Eskom, which remains the buyer, fail to pay, while the 100% guarantee remains in place for any gover...

Global independent power company ENGIE, which is prioritising the South African electricity market for significant organic and acquisitive growth, is also open to participating in grid investments should government move to open the market to private sector participation.

ENGIE South Africa CEO Mohamed Hoosen tells Engineering News that the bigger group already has significant transmission grid assets globally and has also participated in build, own, operate and transfer projects.

South Africa's Electricity Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has reported that government is considering various financing and private sector participation models to support an acceleration in the building of grid infrastructure, which has emerged as a key constraint to the connection of new renewables in the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape provinces.

The Minister was recently given responsibility for ensuring that matters concerning "transmission are dealt with, including the issuing of the requests for proposals", as well as "developing and agreeing on financing models and options for transmission together with National Treasury and the Presidency".

Cabinet is expected to consider a strategy for unlocking private finance and capacity early in 2024, with Ramokgopa having already indicated that he believes Eskom's Transmission Development Plan (TDP), which currently aims to add 14 000 km of new powerlines by 2032, should be accelerated.

He has also indicated a need to bring forward some of the TDP investments, with the current plan having earmarked the lion's share of the roll-out only for the period after 2028.

Hoosen reports that a portion of ENGIE South Africa's 4 GW renewables pipeline, which has been enlarged following the acquisition in December of BTE Renewables, and its 3 GW portfolio of advanced projects, are in grid-constrained areas and that its growth ambitions could, thus, be enhanced by new and accelerated grid investment.

However, for ENGIE South Africa to participate Hoosen says government's private sector participation policy would have to be certain, while the actual deployment model would also have to be supportive and consistent.

"What is important is to be very clear about the model from the start, as challenges arise when there is uncertainty on the policy or when changes are introduced during implementation," Hoosen says.

PROJECT CONSTRUCTION & NEW BIDS

The company's immediate focus, however, is on the construction of projects awarded under Bid Window Five (BW5) of South Africa's renewables procurement programme and the risk mitigation scheme, as well as bedding down the BTE Renewables acquisition. This, while simultaneously preparing bids for the procurement programmes launched for wind and solar, battery storage and gas-to-power (GTP).

ENGIE South Africa is particularly interested to learn whether brownfield conversions and expansions will be considered under the recently launched 2 000 MW GTP bid window, given its position in the existing 670 MW Avon and 335 MW Dedisa diesel-fired peaking stations - assets secured by the then GDF Suez group, now ENGIE, during South Africa's first-ever independent power producer procurement programme.

Hoosen believes a conversion of the plants to operate using gas (and at a mid-merit-type profile, rather than their current peaking profile) represents a compelling case, from both a cost and speed to deploy perspective. But the group is also assessing greenfield opportunities, including facilities that could integrate with the common gas infrastructure being envisaged for locations such as Richards Bay and Coega.

Hoosen says coordination across multiple developments and across multiple project sponsors could prove challenging, however, particularly given that there would be a firm date for commercial operation of the GTP facility. That said, the benefits of shared infrastructure could also be material.

ENGIE South Africa will also participate in BW7 of the renewables programme, under which ...

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) have a busy week ahead, with three virtual bidders conferences to be hosted over Wednesday and Thursday, and with the department also scheduled to host a public workshop on the draft 2023 edition of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2023).

The bidders conferences follow the release, on December 14, of three new requests for proposals (RFPs) for the public procurement of 7 615 MW of new generation capacity from wind, solar photovoltaic (PV), gas to power and battery energy storage technologies.

Under Bid Window Seven (BW 7) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, the DMRE is seeking to procure 5 000 MW of new renewable energy, comprising 3 200 MW of onshore wind and 1 800 MW of solar PV.

The bid window is the first launched following the partial failure of BW 6, when only solar preferred bidders, with a combined capacity of 1 000 MW, were selected after Eskom informed the wind bidders, which had been vying for a 3 200 MW allocation, that their grid capacity at the locations proposed for connection had been fully absorbed.

These grid constraints will remain a key backdrop to BW 7 and could force bidders to propose projects in areas with less potent resources, but where there is remaining capacity to connect.

It is not yet clear whether grid-releasing curtailment will be integrated into the round, with Eskom having confirmed in December only that a curtailment framework had been presented to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa for approval.

In October, Eskom published its latest Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA), indicating there to be 19.9 GW of grid-connection capacity available nationally, but with zero capacity remaining in the three Cape provinces and the Hydra Central area, which borders the Cape provinces and the Free State. It later indicated that a curtailment addendum to the GCCA would be published that could unlock 4 GW of connection capacity in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces.

Bidders are expected to be provided with additional information on the approach that will be taken to the prevailing grid constraint during a virtual bidders conference, which is schedule for 9:00 on January 18.

At 14:00 on the same day, a virtual bidders conference is also planned for the second bid window of government's Battery Energy Storage IPP Procurement Programme, or BESIPPPP BW 2, following the recent unveiling of preferred bidders following the inaugural bidding round.

On November 30, four utility-scale battery energy storage system projects in the Northern Cape, with a combined investment value of R10-billion, were named as preferred bids, while negotiations were continuing with a fifth bidder.

Through BESIPPPP BW 2, government is seeking to procure 615 MW/2 460 MWh across eight substations in the 'North West Supply Area'.

At 9:00 on January 18, meanwhile, a virtual conference is planned for government's inaugural 2 000 MW Gas Programme, or GASIPPPP BW 1, the RFP for which was also released in December.

GASIPPPP BW 1 has been launched on a site-agnostic basis, with the DMRE indicating that a separate procurement process will be held for 1 000 MW of capacity to be developed near to the Port of Ngqura, in the Eastern Cape.

The gas programme was launched just ahead of the DMRE's release of the draft IRP 2023 for public comment.

The document includes a far larger allocation for gas for the period to 2030 than is the case in the current IRP 2019; a position that not only reduces the renewables allocation for the period relative to the current IRP but which is likely to face heavy scrutiny and criticism from many of those who will comment on the plan ahead of the February 23 deadline for written comments.

The DMRE has not provided for oral hearings as has been the case previously and has instead only set aside two dates for public workshops, with the first workshop schedu...

The City of Cape Town has issued the latest in a series of power-related tenders aimed at mitigating the impact of loadshedding and diversifying its energy supply from Eskom.

The city says this is in line with its programme of adding independent power to its grid.

The new tender aims to procure power from existing generators.

A two-pronged procurement structure will be followed, allowing bidders to supplement dispatchable/reserve power with an optional self-dispatchable component, with the latter being at a lower cost than the prevailing Eskom Megaflex tariff.

The maximum envisaged procured capacity (depending on the level of response and pricing) is 300 MW of dispatchable/reserve power capacity and 200 MW of self-dispatchable power capacity.

The closing date for tender submissions is April 8.

"The most important current energy priority is ending loadshedding in Cape Town, with short-term plans to protect against the first four stages of Eskom loadshedding by 2026, adding 650 MW of independent power to our mix within five years, and building up to the ultimate goal of access to additional independent power to put an end to Eskom loadshedding," says City of Cape Town Energy MMC Beverley van Reenen.

The city's short-term loadshedding mitigation plans (up to 2026) should be achieved largely through a mix of electricity from the Steenbras hydro plant; 500 MW of dispatchable energy; as well as demand management programmes.

Demand management programmes include the curtailment of large power users, as well as the Power Heroes programme, which is a voluntary scheme for households and small commercial customers that enables the remote control of power-hungry appliances, such as geysers and pool pumps.

The list of Cape Town's power supply diversification initiatives include securing embedded independent power producer (IPP) renewable energy (200 MW), with the goal of diversifying electricity suppliers for more cost-effective electricity (currently under way); a dispatchable IPP programme (up to 500 MW), which a key loadshedding mitigation mechanism, with ten-year power contracts for dispatchable power plants (under way); wheeling (up to 350 MW), a city-enabled means of third parties selling electricity to each other using existing grid infrastructure (under way); private small-scale embedded generation, or SSEG (up to 100 MW), where residential and commercial customers are enabled to generate electricity for their own use, while also being credited for excess generation (done); and city-owned SSEG, up to 20 MW, from the Atlantis plant (7 MW) and solar energy at city facilities (13 MW) (under way).