The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and energy experts have call for the Department of Energy to factor in the latest research on renewables, which shows that solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy are 40% cheaper than coal, before it approves and publishes the latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The IRP was scheduled to be presented to the Cabinet last week but was postponed. The CSIR on Monday released a report which shows a drop in the cost of energy generated from wind and solar PV technologies since the submission of bids for window 1 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme on November 4 2011. Tobias Niemz, head of the CSIR’s Energy Centre, said such an update needed to be included in the IRP before it is gazetted. Chris Yelland, an energy analyst at EE Publishers, said before any decisions were taken on nuclear, solar, wind and other energy sources, a "proper" IRP is needed if SA wanted to plan for the next 20-30 years, and using ...
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