Legal updates and opinions
Post Author
News / News
Green shoots which may reignite the Renewable Energy Industry
by Nozipho Bhengu, Director
- In line with the Ministerial Determination issued under section 34 of the Electricity Regulations and concurred with by the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), on 18 March 2021, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe made the long awaited announcement that the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the procurement of 2 600 megawatts of electricity under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPP) Bid Window 5 would be released to the market at midnight on 19 March 2021.
- The RFP for Bid Window 5 invites independent power producers to submit bids for 1 600 megawatts generated from wind and 1 000 megawatts from solar PV, with project sizes ranging from a minimum of 1megawatt to a maximum of 140 megawatts for wind and a minimum of 1 megawatt to a maximum of 75 megawatt for solar PV.
- The Minister further announced that the closing date for the submission of bids under Bid Window 5 is 4 August 2021 and Bid Window 6 will be launched in August 2021. Details as to how to obtain the RFP for Bid Window 5 are available on the IPP office website: ipp-projects.co.za.
- Since the above announcement the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has, further announced that it intends convening a virtual bidders’ conference in April 2021 to provide information and clarity on the bid submission requirements and expectations for Bid Window 5 of the REIPP. Further details of the bidders’ conference will be announced by DMRE in due course.
- The announcement to procure additional electricity capacity comes at a time when the country is experiencing crippling load shedding and therefore shows Government’s serious intent to address electricity shortages that the country is facing and ensure energy security. Government is to be applauded for this initiative, which will hopefully go a long way to resolving the electricity shortages in South Africa and revitalise the renewable energy industry and the economy.
Latest News
Cybercrime across borders: Navigating Africa’s fragmented legislative landscape – Part 1
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of Regulatory, and Boitumelo Khwene, Candidate Attorney The Compliance Imperative By the time you [...]
The externalisation of South African Intellectual Property – Navigating exchange control rules and copyright law in cross-border computer software development
by Janine Hollesen, Director and Head of Intellectual Property, Deon Griessel, Director, and Khanyisa Tshoba, Associate 1. The Regulatory Landscape: [...]
When AI becomes the incident: From rogue agents to prompt injection – Is your organisation ready to detect it, stop it and report it?
by Tebogo Sibidla, Director Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly moving from answering questions to taking actions on our behalf. This [...]
New communications Bill proposes changes to telecoms access, pricing and spectrum rules
by Tebogo Sibidla, Director Regulatory change does not wait for a bill to become law before it starts to matter. [...]
Beware of boilerplate dispute resolution clauses
by Jones Antunes, Director, and Tshegofatso Matlou, Associate Parties all too often, when negotiating agreements, agree to dispute resolution clauses [...]
When the clock starts ticking…… Why cross-border data breach response demands more than good intentions
by Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Director and Head of Regulatory, and Tebogo Sibidla, Director Picture this... A retailer with operations spanning southern [...]
