South Africa: A new tender for 5000 MW of wind and solar power.

With programs such as the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP) and the Just Energy Transition Invest Plan supported by wealthy nations, renewable energies continue to progress in South Africa.

The Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa announced the launch of the seventh bidding window (BW7) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP), according to a statement quoted by the engineeringnews agency.

As part of this tender, the ministry will seek bids for the development of 3,200 MW of wind energy and 1,800 MW of photovoltaic solar energy (PV). The BW7 is the first tender launched in accordance with the Ministerial Determination published in December 2022.

The Ministerial Determination highlights the intention to acquire 14,771 MW of new production and storage capacities for South Africa, including 3,940 MW of photovoltaic solar energy, 9,600 MW of wind energy, and 1,231 MW of energy storage through batteries.

This willingness to accelerate the deployment of renewable capacities responds to the failure of the current electrical system, primarily based on aging coal power plants on the one hand, and the urgent need for an energy transition on the other.

As a reminder, the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program has, in six cycles, enabled the acquisition of a capacity of almost 9.7 GW from independent energy producers.