South Africa’s renewable energy and battery storage capacity is set to improve following the announcement of preferred bidders for two key procurement programmes.

The Ministry of Electricity has confirmed that all eight renewable energy projects awarded under Bid Window 7 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) are solar photovoltaic (PV) developments, collectively adding 1 760 MW of capacity to the grid. The bid round attracted 48 responses – 40 for solar PV and eight for onshore wind – but no wind projects were successful.

However, the department said additional compliant onshore wind and solar PV bidders could still be appointed. This depends on value-for-money negotiations and reallocation of megawatts under the bid window, as outlined in the request for proposals.

Commenting on the success of solar bids over onshore wind, a solar PV industry expert told Energize: “The choice is simple – solar is more cost-effective in today’s market.”

The current successful bidders under REIPPPP Bid Window 7 include Infinity Power Holding SA, Mulilo Renewable Project Developments and Scatec Solar Africa.

Battery storage

Meanwhile, the second bid window of the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP) has also concluded, with preferred bidders selected to develop energy storage facilities across eight specified sites, contributing up to 615 MW of capacity.

The BESIPPPP second bid window was highly competitive with a significant increase in the number of bids received – a total of 31 – compared to the previous round, the Ministry of Electricity said.

The preferred bidders under BESIPPPP Bid Window 2 include EDF, AMEA and Mulilo.