Ramokgopa: Energy Dept ramping up efforts to introduce more green energy to power grid

CAPE TOWN - Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said his department was ramping up efforts to introduce more green energy to the country’s power grid. 

With no load shedding for 208 days now, Ramokgopa said the new administration was making small but significant steps in stabilising the energy grid and increasing capacity. 
 
Key to this, he said, was accelerating green energy to improve electricity supply and to drive down costs.

READ: 'There shouldn't be load shedding, there must be consistency of supply' - Ramokgopa

There have been nine bid windows for green energy projects since 2011.

Ramokgopa said his department would be introducing reforms within the next four to five weeks aimed at enticing more independent power producers.

"We’ve seen what are the downsides of a monopoly. When a monopoly fails, it drags the entire country with it. So, we’ve seen the challenges Eskom overexposed as a country."

Eight thousand two hundred and fifty megawatts of renewable energy projects are currently either in operation or under construction. 

However, most of these projects are situated in the Cape provinces, something Ramokgopa wants to expand to other provinces too. 

"In KwaZulu-Natal, there hasn’t been any renewable energy project. So, it’s important that there has be alignment of where the capacity is and the resource to ensure that we are able to accelerate this procurement programme."

Projects with more than 8,200 megawatts of capacity are currently up for evaluation by the market between now and next year.