In light of ongoing grid constraints, some wind industry practitioners are warning that only about 2 GW of the 3.2 GW wind allocation in Bid Window Six (BW6) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) is likely to be taken up, given that lower-priced solar photovoltaic projects could absorb a portion of the remaining available network in the key wind provinces of the Eastern and Western Cape. There are also warnings that South Africa’s logistics and construction sectors are not in a position to cope with the anticipated acceleration of wind-related project activity, which is increasingly likely to be driven by private-sector projects rather than the REIPPPP. Any further delays on the back of a protracted period of procurement disruption between 2015 and 2021 and difficulties in ensuring that projects procured under BW5 reach financial close will contribute to extending loadshedding, which has already intensified dramatically this year. Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer raised these concerns with South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) CEO Niveshen Govender, whose responses are outlined below.

Engineering News: Do you believe there is a risk that the full 3.2 GW allocated to wind as part of BW6 might not be taken up?

Govender: The wind industry has typically exceeded the allocation in terms of what has been submitted and constraints are usually related to grid capacity. Areas of high levels of wind resource are the most constrained. The allocation for the REIPPPP can only be taken up if there are sufficient bids which meet the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and IPP Office guidelines at a competitive cost. We have seen that there are more bids, with a combined capacity of about 4.2 GW, than the allocation for BW6, which is 3.2 GW. Where there is available capacity, the best suited technologies for the country must be evaluated whilst considering maintaining the integrity of the programme.

Given that price is the key evaluation criteria and PV projects could come in cheaper than wind during BW6, is there a risk that grid capacity in areas of strong wind resources will be diverted to PV, which only has a 1 GW allocation?

The evaluation process allows for both wind and PV projects to be evaluated equally based on price and grid-connection availability, hence the most cost-effective projects will use up the initial grid capacity in a specific region. Once the allocation for one technology is used up (e.g. PV since it has a lower allocation as part of BW6), the remaining allocation for the bid round falls to the other technology whilst ensuring that the specific allocation for that technology is not exceeded. Although PV may allow for lower tariffs in certain instances, considerations need to be made as to the holistic set of factors required of a power generation facility, including the availability factor – with new wind energy projects reaching approximately 50%, that needs to be taken into consideration. It is within the purview of the government and system operator to lay out the requirements for a technology to meet the demand. As SAWEA, we advocate that the government and system operator consider these additional factors given the struggles the State utility is undergoing.

Is there anything that can be done to safeguard grid capacity for wind projects during BW6?

Grid capacity is one of the main constraints to the expansion of wind energy projects and renewable energy projects at large in South Africa. Preferred bidders are chosen by the IPP Office and DMRE through a rigorous closed-door evaluation process hence wind projects must comply with requirements as set out in the BW6 request for proposals (RFP) in order to ensure they are chosen as preferred bidders. Although as an industry we can see the advantages of safeguarding grid capacity for wind-specific projects, we must ensure that the integrity of the REIPPPP is not compromised.

Has the industry eng...