Thread by @GraemeRauby

THREAD: What are SA's 8 metros doing for independent power production & loosening over-reliance on #Eskom?

I did digging.

Which cities' #IPP plans put 'em in pole position?

1. Ekurhuleni & CPT
2. Ethekwini
3. Nelson Mandela Bay & Buffalo City
4. JHB
5. PTA
6. Mangaung

Cont.

Please note: I asked one of SA's top energy experts, Stellenbosch University's prof. Sampson Mamphweli to check & corroborate all of my interviews & findings on the different metros. He gave me a thumbs up & said it's actually assisting him in his work! Great!

So, the cities...

Ekurhuleni:

*Aim: 25% #IPP power by 2030
*Awarded 46 small-scale IPP tenders - 31 (mostly solar PVs) are expected to come online by Christmas, claims Energy MMC Senzi Sibeko
*Signed wheeling energy deal
*Approved solar microgrid deal
*Old grid, tight budget!

Cont.

Cape Town:

*70s Steenbras plant well maintained
*Mayor: it will take 2-3 years to realise 300MW tender - perhaps solar battery storage?
*CoCT to pay hard cash to industrial & commercial suppliers to feed own power into grid
*CoCT in talks to get last 15% of Eskom's CT customers

Ethekwini:

*Goal: 20% #IPP power by 2025
*Sept '21: RFI sent out for 400MW IPP
*104 project proposals came back; mostly natural gas / biogas / solar
*Tenders to be issued in the next few months
*Wants to be KZN's energy hub
*100% energy independence by 2035/2050

Nelson Mandela Bay:

*Since '18: innovative project to get more solar installations in Gqeberha
*2024 biogas project in the works
*Sept: send out RFI for 180MW #IPP into the grid by 2030
*Metro admits RFI comes late due to IPP policy uncertainty & coalition council infighting

Buffalo City (East London):

*Three-hour blocks of load shedding!
*Expert says BC could've been SA's 1st energy self-sufficient hub but IDZ plans failed!
* "We're vulnerable as a city"
*Energy plan to have RFI for #IPP power sent out soon
*Working with state scientists CSIR

Johannesburg:

*Part of Van Beek Substation 90 years old!
*Learning from CPT to draw up strategic energy plan in coming months
*Issue RFI for #IPP proposals by year-end
*Wants to extend lease of Kelvin coal plant (15% to local grid)
*R1.6bn this year on fixing infrastructure

Tshwane, the capital:

*R1.6bn Eskom bill
*Unsolicited R26bn tender to procure !OLD! PTA West & Rooiwal plants: 480MW that's 25% of PTA's grid
*Tshwane admits: NO other #IPP plans right now
*Expert: plants won't meet today's carbon emissions standards, better to repurpose 'em

Mangaung or Bloemfontein:

*Requests for EWN interviews ignored
*Under national administration
*City power utility #Centlec dogged by irregular spending & infighting
*Centlec report mentions solar study & solar farm plans but nothing concrete yet
*Minister Godongwana is worried!

RFI is a Request for Information to see what's available in the market of renewable energies & first prizes CAN go to the most local of suppliers. Proposals can be sent to a municipality to be considered to make a case for #IPP, before officially starting a formal tender process.

Want to read more on the cities' plans? Here is the full list of @ewnupdates articles:

Main findings & Buffalo City: ewn.co.za/2022/08/22/how…

Tshwane: ewn.co.za/2022/08/24/cit…

JHB & Ethekwini: ewn.co.za/2022/08/23/job…

NMBM: ewn.co.za/2022/08/23/nmb…

#IPP cont.

Mangaung & Buffalo City: ewn.co.za/2022/08/24/no-…

Ekurhuleni: ewn.co.za/2022/08/23/eku…

Cape Town: ewn.co.za/2022/08/23/ct-…

ENJOY & PLEASE SHARE! This was a journalistic labour of love & passion to see South Africa grow and not fail like so many love hailing!

SICK OF READING? Listen to the podcast about this thread on @CapeTalk!

Here's the LINK: omny.fm/shows/capetalk…