Opportunity Issue 98

What is Enel’s view on the state of the REIPPPP?
The REIPPP programme is among the best – if not the
best – renewable energy and Independent Power
Producer programme in Africa. It aims to accomplish
many goals that are commonly misunderstood. The
programme is not just about the procurement of green
power and renewable energy. Local content is also
significant, as is local manufacturing, local ownership,
a sustainable contribution to the community and
preferential procurement. If there’s a negative, it relates
to time frames. Now that frequent load-reduction is
being implemented, we need the energy to come
online and there’s a lot of fine-tuning and tweaking in
the programme which may cause significant delays.
Although there’s definitely been an improvement in
the realisation that we need greater power capacity and
delivery, rather urgently.
Is renewable energy on the rise globally in terms of
markets, prices and sustainability?
The uptake of renewable energy is certainly on the rise,
because the world is finally ‘getting it’. Government
entities are finally seeing the value of renewable energy
and its impact on the environment.
There’s the transportation of the coal, the heavy
truck emitting pollution, and damage to the road
infrastructure as well as the environment. People are
getting that.
Renewable energy prices have come down.
Independent Power Producers and manufacturers are
trying to figure out how to produce more with the
available resources they have. As equipment efficiencies
improve and the ability to produce energy improves, the
project tariffs will continue to drop.
Technological improvements have led to Enel
installing 4.2 MW wind turbines, which are currently the
largest onshore units in Africa, and soon even larger units
can be available.
All these things have an impact on the pricing and on
sustainability. We understand the value of doing projects
in a sustainable way, as well as providing value in the
communities in which we operate. It’s an important
distinction which we pride ourselves on.
What can be done to accelerate the ‘global transition’?
It has a lot to do with the government’s policies,
regulatory markets and opening up transmission
access. There are many Independent Power Producers
and energy companies that would like to establish
these projects. They don’t require the same degree
of specifications that combined cycle, coal plants or
nuclear power plants do.
To know how to run these projects and to build
technical knowledge is important. All renewable
The Local Control Room of Operation and Maintenance South Africa in
Johannesburg allows for real-time updates on energy production, the resources
available, and any issues that require attention. An intern programme has been
running since 2017.
projects have various types of technology and varying
levels of required skills, but many companies can build a
solar plant, so that creates competition – it opens up the
markets. Pricing is re-established through a procurement
process. A transparent credible tender will determine the
market pricing. To do that requires government actions
in establishing the regulatory policy and transmission
access. More clarity on the opening of South Africa’s
transmission structure is needed. There is some open
access, but the operating rules are somewhat unclear.
The cost mechanism is a key aspect that needs to be
ready for the time that open access is achieved. A good
comparison can be made with road infrastructure. The
government initially established the roads infrastructure.
The same thing should occur with the transmission so
that entities can enter into the transmission line just like
a road and deliver products to any customer along the
‘freeway’. There are technological challenges with that,
but it has been done in other places in the world.
Is Enel supporting local business and suppliers?
Certainly, it is in Enel’s and the local economies’ best
interest to do so – a locally manufactured product
carries less issues from a logistics point of view. It makes
business sense, rather than getting components and
labour externally, we can positively contribute to the
empowering of the local community.
In terms of corporate social responsibility, what are
the focus areas for Enel?
Sustainable businesses create shared value. In its Strategy, Enel
addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals – some
of which are education, healthcare, and access to electricity.
Overall, the Group is significantly growing its renewable
capacity, while gradually decommissioning its coal fleet.
_____
The Local Control
Room of Operation and
Maintenance South Africa
in Johannesburg allows
for real-time updates on
energy production, the
resources available and
any issues that require
attention. An intern
programme has been
running since 2017.
_____
William Price,
Country Manager of Enel
Green Power South Africa
www.opportunityonline.co.za | 35