- South Africa’s Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) has published a list of the 56 bids it has received for Bid Window 6 in the country’s controversial Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP).
- This marks a dramatic decline in bids by around half compared to Bid Window 5 which was massivley oversubscribed, attracting a total of 102 bids – REIPPPP BW5 bidders list.
- Since IPPO lost its autonomy and was seconded to the Central Energy Fund in 2017 and then purged in 2019 to fall under the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), the ability of the country to procure new generation capacity has declined dramatically. Read more
- More recently there have been serious allegations of tender rigging in Bid Window 5 where one black economic empowerment company, H1 Holdings, was discovered to be a partner in no less than 21 of the 25 Projects that were awarded preferred bidder status. Read more
In total 4.1 GW of wind, spanning 23 projects, and 5.5 GW of solar at 33 sites will be allowed to participate in Bid Window 6 according to the list published. The wind farms range in capacity from 80 MW to 140 MW while the solar projects range from 75 MW to 240 MW. Link to the full list of bidders HERE: Bid Window 6 Bids Received. Conspicuoulsy, the IPPO does not publish the name of the IPP or project ownership profile. Notably only 1GW of the total of 4.2GW is allocated to solar power in Bid Window 6.
Related news: the myths and truths around South Africa’s REIPPPP Bid Window 5
South Africa is in a spiralling energy crisis, rotational load shedding is getting worst and the cost to the economy is a massive R950 million a day.
Credibility lost
Since Gwede Mantashe’s appointment at South Africa’s Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, three energy procurement programmes have been implemented namely; the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Programme (RMIPPPP) which seeks to procure 2000MW of new generation capacity (launched in September 2020), and the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) Bid Window 5 which seeks to procure 2500MW of new generation wind and solar capacity (launched in April 2021). A third procurement programme, REIPPPP Bid Window 6 which seeks to procure 2600MW of solar and wind capacity, was launched in April this year.
In total, 7100MW is to be procured under the three programmes yet to date only 150MW ( 3 x 50MW projects) has reached financial close In RMIPPPP and after three financial close deadline extensions, only 3 x 140MW wind projects have concluded PPA’s in Bid Window 5 but have yet to reach financial close. Read more
Recently Mantashe himself has said that government is considering re-opening REIPPPP Bid Window 5. Read more
Related news: South Africa’s treasury is considering reducing or eliminating debt gurantees for REIPPPP Projects
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
