I refer to several statements by Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson and the deputy director-general of energy, that in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) there are constraints on "renewable energy due to the difficulty of connecting renewable energy to the grid". Integrating any new generation is a matter of costs, not of it being possible or not. To compare apples to apples, the Department of Energy should show on what basis it made this statement, and the grid connection costs per technology. Will the integration of renewable energy in the existing grid be without costs? No. Will integrating gas or nuclear in the existing grid be without costs? No. The grid is always built to sustain the current supply and demand (with a bit of margin). So any new supply of electricity will mean that the grid will need to be expanded or strengthened. For example, the Medupi grid integration, excluding building the power station itself, cost R10bn (Eskom transmission development plan 2015-2024)...
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