In South Africa, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) has approved projects for the construction of 16 renewable energy plants. The future installations will be connected to the electricity grids of several cities, as well as that of the public company Eskom.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) is accelerating its approval times for renewable energy projects in South Africa. For recently approved applications, the regulator reportedly took 19 days. The 16 approved projects are for the development of 211 MW of installed capacity, with most of the approved projects being for self-consumption. These installations will be connected to the grid of the state-owned company Eskom, as well as those of the municipalities of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Emfuleni.
Led by Omnia Group, the largest self-consumption project is targeting a production capacity of 5 MW. Like Omnia, companies investing in facilities dedicated to meeting their own energy needs have the possibility to implement their projects from 1 to 100 MW without a licence. However, they still need approval from NERSA. Large-scale power generation projects must also follow the same procedure.
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So, among the projects recently approved by the South African regulator are five projects, the largest of which is the construction of an 80 MW solar plant. Located near the town of Lephalale in Limpopo province, the plant will be connected to the grid of the state-owned utility Eskom.
NERSA has also given its approval for the construction of a 70 MW wind farm in Bedford in the Eastern Cape. It is being developed by Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm (Pty), a special purpose vehicle owned by Windlab, a renewable energy producer based in Canberra, Australia. Independent Power Producer (IPP) Sturdee Energy is also getting approval from Nersa to build a 10 MWp solar plant connected to the Eskom grid.
Jean Marie Takouleu
