Limpopo Business 2016-17 edition

OVERVIEW
Renewable energy
Solar and bio-mass have the greatest potential in Limpopo.
SECTOR INSIGHT
Two big events have changed the energy landscape in Limpopo
province: firstly, the giant Medupi power station started delivering
power to the national grid in August 2015; secondly, Limpopo
became the site of three projects that are part of the national
programme to encourage independent power producers to build
capacity in that field.
At this stage the former event is much more significant than
the latter: Unit 6 at Medupi on its own will generate 794MW and
the plan is to have all six units doing the same. Compared to these
volumes of energy, the amount so far allocated to Limpopo in the
renewable energy field is really small. And there is no doubt that
coal-fired power stations such as Medupi will mean that South Africa
will continue to rely on coal for many years to come – but this means
that the coal fields and power stations of Limpopo will also continue
to remain significant.
However, the shift away from a carbon-economy is happening,
and it is happening at astonishing speed (and there is also the fact
that Medupi and Kusile, the other big power station, have been
delayed for a very long time and, at time of going to print, a date for
full functionality remains, at best, a guess).
The Matimba Power Station nearby will continue to hold its title as
the world’s largest dry-cooling plant only until such time as Medupi
is commissioned. Matimba functions close to 3 700MW capacity.
Although Limpopo has only been allocated three projects so far,
the national Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Independent
South Africa’s independent
renewable energy power
producers’ programme has
attracted R53.2-billion in
foreign investment.
• Medupi power station
is feeding power to the
national grid after long
delays.
• Nine biogas digesters are
running as part of a pilot
project.
• Limpopo is home to a
large silicon smelter and
silicon is a component of
solar panels.
Power Producer Procurement
Programme (REIPPP) has been
astonishingly successful in a very
short period of time. Local and
foreign companies have been
bidding in a “closed envelope”
process to build renewable
energy plants (solar, wind, biomass,
hydroelectric) and the
Department of Energy (DoE) selects
the winning company or
consortium, which then gets to
build the plant and sell what it
generates into the national grid
at a competitive price.
Over the four bidding “windows”
to September 2015, a total
of 92 contracts have been signed
to supply electricity with a nameplate
capacity of 6 327MW and
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