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Cape Town - The impact of government's renewable energy independent power producer procurement (REIPPP) programme on conserving the country's scarce water sources cannot be ignored, according to Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson.
"We are now in a position to say we have some of the cheapest wind energy globally and it is cost-competitive with new build fossil fuels," she said on Wednesday in a speech delivered on her behalf at the wind energy sector's Windaba in Cape Town.
For each kilowatt hour (kWh) of renewable energy that displaces fossil fuels in the national grid, 1.2 litres of water will be saved. At full operation of the entire portfolio the REIPPP programme will save 52 million litres of water per year.
South Africa is the largest emitter of carbon emissions in Africa. In 2012 the country ranked 13th globally, mainly due to the fossil fuel heavy energy mix and energy intensive industries. Since the inception of the REIPPP programme, a total of R193bn in investments across 92 projects have been attracted.
Fifty-three percent of the more than 6 300 MW of renewable energy government has already procured consists of wind energy.
"Be part of the winds of change," was her message. Delegates were informed that she had to excuse herself due to many commitments.
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"There were pessimists who felt that renewable energy would not add much to the grid in terms of generation in our most constrained time during peak hours," she said.
"Well, I am proud to report that of wind energy's overall contribution to electricity generation, 15% of that has come during peak hours over the past six months." She foresees that it will continue to play a key role as the installed capacity grows.
In the speech Joemat-Pettersson pointed out that since 2011 and the first bid window under the REIPPP programme, 5.46 terawatt hours of electricity have been produced by such REIPPP projects in SA. This has displaced 5.54 million tonnes of carbon emissions.
"Once the full capacity of renewable energy in REIPPP is procured and operational, we will see 45 million tonnes of carbon emissions displaced annually, offsetting 9.67% of national emissions reported in 2010," she said.
"REIPPP is pointing SA in the right direction to achieving our target range of 400 million tonnes to 600 million tonnes in carbon emissions by 2030, in line with the Copenhagen Accord signed in 2009."
The SA government is seeking to procure 6 360 MW of wind energy and Joemat-Pettersson encouraged investors to look at opportunities for local manufacturing.
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"While we are beginning to see an increase in the manufacturing facility, with local towers supplying wind farms across the country, we believe a lot more can be done," she said. Construction work on local projects also creates skills development, which she considers significant.
The black economic empowerment component of the REIPPP programme is important for Joemat-Pettersson. She pointed out in her speech that 30% of the total equity shareholding from bid windows 1 to 4 is owned by black South Africans.
"We will continue to have high expectations that this will grow over time," she said.
"Wind projects by their nature are sometimes developed in some rural areas of SA and the benefits derived by the local communities are of great importance."
Government's Integrated Resource Plan targets 17 800 MW of renewable energy to be installed as part of a move to turn the country into a low-carbon economy. According to Joemat-Pettersson, more than a third of the target has already been procured. Wind energy is expected to contribute up to 9 200 MW and make up over 10% of SA's energy mix by 2030.
She said one of the key drivers behind the success of the REIPPP programme has been the price drop across the four bidding windows. Under bid window 1 the average price for wind was R1.41/kWH. By bid window 4 it was 0.71/kWh - a 50% tumble.
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