Mantashe sets timelines for next rounds of renewables

Requests for proposals for the procurement of a combined 10,000MW of renewable energy in bid windows seven and eight will be issued in the second and fourth quarter of this financial year, mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe said.

Other requests for proposals in the pipeline were for the procurement of 1,230MW of battery storage, also in the second and fourth quarter of the financial year ending on March 31 2024, he said in his budget vote speech in a mini plenary of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

A request for proposals for the procurement of 3,000MW of gas-to-power energy will be issued in the second quarter, and 2,500MW of nuclear energy in the fourth quarter.

Mantashe noted that through the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) and the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), a total of 7,786MW had been procured through bid windows four, five and six. Of that, 2,130MW is connected to the grid, and 150MW and 784MW are scheduled to become operational in November 2023 and August 2024, respectively.

Besides the time taken between successful procurement and energy output, SA is also battling a lack of grid capacity.

“The single-most challenge we face to address the energy crisis is the grid unavailability,,” Mantashe said. “For instance, 3,200MW of the 4200MW of wind capacity procured under bid window six could not be allocated due to grid unavailability.”

The department planned to submit the long-delayed, revised Integrated Resource Plan of 2019, which is the blueprint for electricity generation and details government’s plans for the different energy sources, to cabinet in the second quarter of this financial year, he said.

Mantashe hit out at lobby groups “mostly foreign funded” that opposed offshore oil and gas developments as pitting “the development needs of poor communities against their own self-serving, self-proclaimed protection of the environment”.

Communities along the Wild Coast, assisted by NGOs, successfully applied to the Makhanda High Court to have Shell’s plan to conduct seismic surveys off the coastline declared unlawful. Shell, Impact Africa and Mantashe are appealing against the judgment.

“Cognisant that protracted litigations emanating here adversely impact SA’s economic development, for example, ENI and Equinor exiting the SA market, we have initiated engagements with the Department of Justice and constitutional development aimed at ensuring that our constitution meets its inherent developmental mandate,” Mantashe said.

He said that legislation must be amended “if needs be” as SA needed to pursue development. No drilling for oil could take place off the coast “as we have given environmentalists veto power over development. It is not right. It is something we must look at.

“I don’t think the issue is either climate change or development. It is both. You do development with responsibility but you don’t block development.”

Dealing with the closure of oil refineries, Mantashe that could lead to instability if not managed properly.

“Importation of petroleum products has reached unprecedented levels. The robustness of the distribution infrastructure will be tested when the Sasolburg refinery goes into a mandatory maintenance shutdown for four months scheduled for later this month,” he said.

“To ameliorate the risk of product shortage in the market, contingency plans are in place and product imports have been lined up. We are also pleased that the Cape Town refinery is back in full operation as this will narrow the supply and demand gap.”

DA spokesperson on mineral resources and energy Kevin Mileham said the RMIPPPP had been an “unmitigated disaster” in terms of implementation. None of its projects were generating any electricity, more than three years after the preferred bidders were announced.

ensorl@businesslive.co.za