The Western Cape government has launched a R13 million fund to help municipalities in the province prepare for the adoption of renewable energy projects.
The Western Cape Municipal Energy Resilience Fund assists qualifying municipalities to conduct research and plan for renewable energy projects they will be developing to build energy security and buffer households and businesses from load-shedding in the province.
The launch of the fund comes on the back of growing appetite for renewable energy in the province.
The Western Cape and some parts of the country have, in recent months, witnessed an upswing in renewable energy consumption, as local businesses and households seek alternative sources for affordable and uninterrupted power supply.
David Maynier, MEC of finance and economic opportunities in the province, says: “The launch of the fund is the next critical step in phase one of our Municipal Energy Resilience (MER) Initiative which aims to help municipalities to take advantage of the new energy regulations, which may include municipalities purchasing energy directly from independent power producers (IPPs).
“The fund will do this by supporting the development of preparatory work, such as the development of electricity master plans and cost of supply studies. These will help municipalities to assess aspects such as grid availability, infrastructure needs and costs, so that they can develop thorough plans for financially sustainable renewable energy projects.”
Maynier says applications for the Western Cape Municipal Energy Resilience Fund opened on 27 August, and he urges all municipalities in the province to apply.
The launch of the fund, he says, follows a successful request for information for the MER Initiative, which solicited information for more than 100 potential energy generation projects from 82 submissions from private sector developers and owners, and a further 15 submissions from Western Cape municipalities.
“These RFI submissions are going through an assessment process to inform the MER Initiative’s pioneering projects roadmap. Although subject to final review, initial results are promising.
“From the 82 private project submissions, 62 submissions representing a combined nominal generation capacity of more than 4 800MW have been deemed to be potentially viable and relevant. Of these, 12% (590MW) of projects appear capable of reaching commercial operation within 12 months, while 75% (nearly 3 600MW) of projects indicated commercialisation within two years from signing a power purchase agreement.”
According to Maynier, submissions included individual generation technology projects ranging from below 1MW to above 100MW.
“Of the renewable energy generation technologies proposed, solar PV is the largest generation technology group followed by onshore wind. Respondents ranged from large, established project developers and owners to smaller emerging project developers.
“Several submissions were received from outside the province with some potential intentions of wheeling, but most projects are located in the Western Cape.”
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