The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme is a Department of Energy initiative that has determined that the generation of 3 725 megawatts (MW) from Renewable Energy sources is required to ensure the continued uninterrupted supply of electricity. This 3 725 MW is broadly in accordance with the capacity allocated to Renewable Energy generation in IRP 2010-2030.
This IPP Procurement Programme has been designed so as to contribute towards the target of 3 725 megawatts and towards socio-economic and environmentally sustainable growth, and to start and stimulate the renewable industry in South Africa.
The department is considering proposals from the following:
- Onshore wind
- Concentrated Solar Thermal
- Solar Photovoltaic
- Biomass Solid
- Biogas
- Landfill gas and
- Small Hydro
There are detractors who cite a number of problems with ‘incetivised / subsidised developments’ with Germany often being held up as an example.
Writing for BDLive, Andrew Kenney says; “Germany’s green disaster gives dramatic testimony to this [the replacement of Nuclear ppower generation with Wind and Solar]. In 2011, in a fit of madness, its politicians decided to phase out nuclear power – its cheapest, safest, most reliable source of electricity – and replace it with solar and wind. The result has been soaring electricity prices, economic damage, environmental blight, increasing electricity failures and rising carbon dioxide emissions. Die Welt reported in 2012 that 800,000 Germans could no longer pay their electricity bills.
The figures for German electricity production last year are frightening. At enormous expense, Germany had installed 32,500MW of wind turbines and 35,700MW of solar. The combined capacity was one-and-a-half times SA’s total generation capacity. But the amount of electricity they produced was only 77TWh (terawatt hours), compared with SA’s 230TWh. By contrast, Germany’s nuclear power, reduced to a capacity of 12,100MW, produced 92TWh. With one-fifth of the capacity of wind and solar, nuclear produced more electricity.”
Of course here Kenney is not talking about using wind and solar power as a domestic or small scale generator with no distribution costs but rather as a base load generator and then distributing that power via an existing infrastructure such as Eskom’s – the cost of distribution is quite crippling.
Compare that to the following truths:
- South Africa is blessed with ample sunshine.
- The cost of Solar Panels over the last 25 years has dropped dramatically (from around R800.00 per Watt to around R8.00 per watt).
- The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has a Fed in Tariff scheme in place.
- The efficiency of Solar Panels has increased making the number needed and required area to cover much less for an average home.
- There is no cost of distribution when your solar panels are installed.
- The payback from a grid tie system has decreased to around 6 years.
Contact Straton Solar to request a quote.
What one must also realise is that as the demand for solar panels increases then the price will inevitably drop further. After installing Solar, not only will you be saving money but also reducing your carbon footprint whilst utilising the second most abundant product in the world (Silicon from sand) to generate electricity.