S Africa's 2.6-GW renewable tender seen to be oversubscribed - IHS Markit

South Africa’s latest tender for 2.6 GW of wind and solar capacity has received a strong response and is expected to be fully subscribed or oversubscribed.

The projection was made by Kiren Maharaj, chairperson of the South Africa National Energy Association, for IHS Markit’s Net-Zero Business Daily. It follows the publication of data by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) revealing that the competition has attracted 102 bids.

The request for proposals (RfP) was issued in March under Bid Window 5 of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) programme and seeks to award 1 GW of solar PV and 1.6 GW of wind power projects. The deadline for submitting applications was August 16.

According to the government’s data, 63 of the received proposals concern solar photovoltaic (PV) plants and 39 are for onshore wind parks. The combined capacity of the bids was not announced.

The names of the winners will be known in October or November. The selected developers will be required to reach financial close on their projects in February or March 2022, with commercial operations set to be launched 24 months later.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!