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Table Mountain stands beyond the harbour area in Cape Town. Picture: DEAN HUTTON/BLOOMBERG
Willem Cronje asks why the 7MW solar power plant Cape Town is installing is so small (“Cape Town could embark on a rapid build of green generating capacity”, January 9). The answer is that Cape Town cannot fund all of the new power it needs to end load-shedding from our own balance sheet.
We have begun the process of buying far more power — 200MW already — from independent producers that can fund all of the capital investment upfront and earn a return on this investment through power availability agreements with the city.
In a few weeks’ time we will release our second, far larger, call for independent power that is “dispatchable” on our city grid. We hope for an enthusiastic uptake from the market. The small solar installation we are funding ourselves will offer a real-world comparison of the cost of power produced ourselves, versus the cost of power procured from elsewhere. This data will be valuable for future decision-making.
We have also already changed policy to incentivise more businesses to install solar power by allowing them to be “net producers” and pay them in cash (as opposed to mere bill credits) for the power they produce. We hope to expand this to residential homes this year.
We’re investing in the Steenbras Hydro station, and will soon pay residents to free up grid capacity at peak hours. I can assure Cronje and others that we are moving as aggressively as we can to end load-shedding in Cape Town over time.
We understand it is killing the SA economy, and there can be no talk of renewal or recovery until we stop it.
Geordin Hill-Lewis Cape Town mayor
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Cape Town funds what it can
Steps are being taken to end load-shedding
Willem Cronje asks why the 7MW solar power plant Cape Town is installing is so small (“Cape Town could embark on a rapid build of green generating capacity”, January 9). The answer is that Cape Town cannot fund all of the new power it needs to end load-shedding from our own balance sheet.
We have begun the process of buying far more power — 200MW already — from independent producers that can fund all of the capital investment upfront and earn a return on this investment through power availability agreements with the city.
In a few weeks’ time we will release our second, far larger, call for independent power that is “dispatchable” on our city grid. We hope for an enthusiastic uptake from the market. The small solar installation we are funding ourselves will offer a real-world comparison of the cost of power produced ourselves, versus the cost of power procured from elsewhere. This data will be valuable for future decision-making.
We have also already changed policy to incentivise more businesses to install solar power by allowing them to be “net producers” and pay them in cash (as opposed to mere bill credits) for the power they produce. We hope to expand this to residential homes this year.
We’re investing in the Steenbras Hydro station, and will soon pay residents to free up grid capacity at peak hours. I can assure Cronje and others that we are moving as aggressively as we can to end load-shedding in Cape Town over time.
We understand it is killing the SA economy, and there can be no talk of renewal or recovery until we stop it.
Geordin Hill-Lewis
Cape Town mayor
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
LETTER: Cape Town could embark on a rapid build of green generating capacity
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LETTER: Cape Town could embark on a rapid build of green generating capacity
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.