Green Economy Journal Issue 41

ENERGY
Load-shedding
sheds light on need for IRP 2019
BY CALYN MONERON
Intermittent electricity outages have come back in force while South Africa is experiencing
an economic setback during the Covid-19 pandemic. The power disruptions, due to Eskom
power station breakdowns, highlight the need for the implementation of IRP 2019.
The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019 is South Africa’s electricity
infrastructure development plan for the procurement of
generation capacity up to 2030. IRP 2019 supports a diverse
energy mix and sets out nine policy interventions to ensure the security
of South Africa’s electricity supply. The resource plan is based on the
least-cost electricity supply and demand balance, considering the
security of supply and the environment through the minimisation of
negative emission and water use.
The government launched its inaugural Sustainable Infrastructure
Development Symposium South Africa (SIDSSA) to plan its immediate
infrastructure project pipeline aimed at reconstructing South Africa’s
economic trajectory. At SIDSSA various investments in the energy sector
were analysed. Eleven energy projects were chosen with an investment
value of R270 billion. The projects are expected to produce more
than 2 000MW.
At an energy roundtable held as part of SIDSSA, Thsifhiwa Bernard
Magoro, the recently appointed head of South Africa’s Independent
Power Producer Office (IPPO), announced that the bidding round for
the procurement of utility-scale renewable energy projects (Bid Window
5), would be launched in the second quarter of 2021. Magoro specified
that the finalisation of bid documentation for the Risk Mitigation Power
Purchase Programme (RMPPP) was a priority and the request for proposals
for RMPPP would be released towards the end of July 2020. The IPPO aim
to secure 2 000MW of emergency energy to fill an immediate supply gap
that had been identified in IRP 2019.
The COO for the SA Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), Nivesh
Govender, responded that they are not convinced that the 2 000MW
emergency round would be sufficient to address any short-term capacity
restraints. SAPVIA has approached the National Energy Regulator of
South Africa (NERSA) and recommended that this should be increased to
at least 4 000MW with 2 000MW of this being reserved for the Minister’s
determination. Govender proposes that the second 2 000MW should remain
open for bilateral self-generation builds. “These bilateral self-generation
builds require slight regulatory adjustments and will achieve the quickest
addition of power at no cost to the government,” Govender said.
During SIDSSA, the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede
Mantashe, indicated that the IRP for Round 5 would be published in March
2021. Govender believes that this timeframe coupled with the emergency
round and storage acquisition will help achieve grid stability in the midterm.
“These procurements together with a robust self-generation programme
will definitely contribute to the desired outcome,” Govender said.
There has also been talk of Eskom being able to access available excess
capacity from current IPP projects. “While there is excess capacity available
from a number of IPPs, this would require a process. The Department of
Mineral Resources and Energy IPPO and Eskom would need to determine
how this will happen. I assume they will engage with each of these projects
individually and negotiate this. As far as I understand, this process has not
moved,” added the SAPVIA COO.
“The IRP’s biggest opportunity is in low-cost electricity which would
create additional operational and construction jobs and only consistency
will open the prospect for domestic manufacturing of renewable
components. Embedded solar energy can also contribute to ensuring
energy security in the short- and medium-term which is now even more
critical,” says Govender. The solar industry has a policy target to generate
6GW of energy by 2030 and will contribute to the procurement of
2 000MW of distributed energy by 2024.
“Implementation of the IRP is a valuable tool to kick-start our economic
response to the pandemic and can go a long way to giving our country the
stability and certainty of a reliable power source. Our economy and our
future simply cannot afford the uncertainty that comes with the spectre of
possibly again going through load-shedding,” concludes Govender.
Utility-scale technologies outlined in the IRP 2019
6 800MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind capacity for the
years 2022 to 2024
513MW of storage to be procured for the year 2022
3 000MW from gas for the years 2024 to 2027
1 500MW from coal for the years 2023 to 2027
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