PETER BRUCE: Bid Window 5 is in big trouble and may need some degree of rescue
Not one of the BW5 winners has reached financial closure, so there’ll be no electricity from them to Eskom by the planned date of April 2024
10 August 2022 - 16:30
Mineral resources & energy minister Gwede Mantashe’s press conference on October 28 last year was upbeat. He was announcing the preferred bidders of the fifth bid window (BW5) of the government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, and 25 winners were announced.
They would eventually supply almost 2,600MW into the grid, 1,600MW of it wind and the rest solar. The average tendered price of the wind winners was R495.22/MWh (or 49c per kilowatt hour) and the solar averaged out at R428.79/MWh. Those prices were astonishingly low and there was much rejoicing...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.