- On 23 December 2024, South Africa’s Minister of Electricity announced the preferred bidders for Bid Window 7 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (“BW7 REIPP-PP”).
BW7 REPIP-PP made provision for a total of 5 GW allocation with the following breakdown by technology:
- 1.8 GW allocated for Solar PV
- 3.2 GW allocated for Onshore Wind
A total of 48 bids were received by the IPP Office. However, grid constraints — particularly affecting wind projects in areas with high resource potential — once again impacted procurement outcomes.
- Zero Onshore Wind projects were awarded preferred bidder status.
- Solar PV was oversubscribed. 8.53 GW of bids were submitted, but only the 1.8 GW allocation could be awarded.
Despite the challenges, four Onshore Wind projects were classified as “Eligible Bidders”. These include three 240 MW projects and one 212.4 MW project, totalling 932.4 MW. Given this, the Department of Electricity and Energy (the “DEE”) announced its intention to:
- Enter into value-for-money negotiations with the Eligible Bidders of Onshore Wind projects.
- Reallocate the unused Onshore Wind capacity — approximately 2,270 MW — to Solar PV, enabling additional capacity to be brought into procurement where it can be connected and delivered sooner.
Additional Awards
In a significant follow-up announcement on 22 July 2025, the DEE released a list of six additional preferred bidders under BW7 REIPP-PP. This marks a critical step in unlocking more capacity and addressing the oversubscription in Solar PV and shortfall in Onshore Wind projects.
The DEE has awarded preferred bidder status to projects of 2 IPP Sponsors as follows:
- Scatec ASA has been awarded 700MW in 3 co-located Solar PV projects in Kroonstad, Free State, developed as a cluster by Atlantic Renewable Energy Partners (Pty) Ltd.
- Red Rocket South Africa (Pty) Ltd has secured 590MW in 3 additional projects — Florida Solar Park and Virginia 4 Solar Park in Virginia, Free State (developed by Mater energia SL) and Dwaalboom Solar 3 in Northam, Limpopo (also developed by Atlantic Renewable Energy Partners (Pty) Ltd).
Shortlisted Projects
In additional to the newly announced preferred bidders, the DEE has confirmed that 4 Onshore Wind projects and 4 Solar PV projects have been earmarked for value-for-money negotiations. Although an official shortlist has not yet been published, the following projects are believed to be under consideration based on available information and assumptions at the time of writing.
The shortlisted projects appear to have been bid by 4 IPP Sponsors as follows:
- ACCIONA Energía have been shortlisted for 3 Onshore Wind projects in Aberdeen, Eastern Cape, developed as a cluster in partnership with Atlantic Renewable Energy Partners (Pty) Ltd.
- Mulilo have been shortlisted for 1 self-developed Onshore Wind project in Newcastle, Kwazulu-Natal.
- ENGIE Africa have also been shortlisted for 1 Solar PV project in Virginia, Free State (developed by Mater energia SL).
- Red Rocket South Africa (Pty) Ltd have been shortlisted for an additional 3 Solar PV projects. 2 of them form part of the Springhaas cluster, developed by ABO Energy in Dealesville, Free State, while the remaining one was developed by Mater energia SL in Mpumalanga.
This development underscores the DEE’s intent to fully utilise available grid capacity while maintaining a fair and competitive procurement process. Shortlisted bidders are expected to update the commercial aspects of their bids in August 2025, with re-evaluations scheduled for September 2025.
The information presented below is subject to the successful conclusion of value-for-money negotiations.
Geographic Distribution
The map below highlights a notable geographic shift: project locations are increasingly concentrated in provinces like Limpopo and the Free State, where grid capacity is more readily available, rather than in areas with the highest wind or solar resource potential. This trend underscores a growing reality in South Africa’s energy transition — grid connection remains the primary determinant of project success and integration in renewable energy procurement.
Developers are clustering projects to optimise grid connection costs at higher voltage levels and targeting areas with favourable grid access to navigate an increasingly complex competitive environment.
IPP Sponsor Distribution
The chart below illustrates the distribution of awards under BW7 REIPP-PP, with Red Rocket South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Infinity Power and Scatec ASA emerging as the major winners. The remaining capacity is associated with ACCIONA Energía, Mulilo and ENGIE Africa, reflecting a relatively concentrated outcome among a handful of key bidders.
Developer Distribution
The chart below illustrates the distribution of awarded capacity by junior developer under BW7 REIPP-PP.
- Atlantic Renewable Energy Partners (Pty) Ltd leads the field, with a contribution of almost 2GW in awarded and shortlisted bids. This represents almost 40% of the total allocation for BW7 REIPP-PP.
- Subsolar Energy and Mater energia SL make notable contributions of 1,110MW and 890MW respectively.
- ABO Energy‘s contributes 2 projects from the Springhaas cluster in Dealesville, Free State, in their first REIPP-PP win.
- Mulilo stands out as the only vertically-integrated IPP Sponsor to have bid self-developed projects.
Congratulations to the preferred bidders and developers progressing under challenging conditions. The Department of Electricity and Energy’s forward-looking approach — reallocating capacity from Onshore Wind to Solar PV in an effort to fully utilise the 5 GW BW7 allocation — is a welcome signal of flexibility and responsiveness in procurement planning. While the outcomes remain subject to the success of value-for-money negotiations, we now look ahead to timely project implementation and grid connection. South Africa needs the power without delay.
Author: David Nunez Blundell
