Mpumalanga’s grid capacity positions it well for renewable energy projects

Renewable energy company Enertag South Africa says that as renewable energy Independent Power Producers (IPPs) begin expanding their footprint into areas that offer grid availability, the Mpumalanga province features near the top of the list.

It points out that the large number of energy intensive users (EIUs) in and around eMalahleni, make it the ideal location to promote private off-taker agreements for the purchase of energy from IPPs.

Read: World Bank to finance R9.09bn Komati energy transition project

“Deploying renewable power in this area facilitates faster power distribution and hence it is becoming a priority area for green investment, thereby increasing the country’s clean energy portfolio,” says Enertag SA.

Energy expert and co-director of the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition at Stellenbosch University, Professor Mark Swilling, tells Moneyweb that the concentration of major coal-fired power stations in Mpumalanga means that the area’s transmission grid capacity is strong and substantial.

“Contrast that to the Northern Cape, where there is no additional grid transmission infrastructure to build anything, let alone large-scale renewables, there is a space capacity for only 100 megawatts which is absolutely nothing,” he adds.

Swilling says that as more coal-fired power stations are closed, more grid transmission capacity will become available. “Therefore, it does make sense to concentrate renewables in the Mpumalanga region.”

Enertag SA points out that although wind power resources in the province are not as efficient as those in coastal areas, Mpumalanga still presents a sufficient business case for renewable energy projects.

It notes however, that the eMalahleni Renewable Energy Development Zone (Redz), which could play a key role in SA’s Just Energy Transition (JET), is restricted to expediting the developments of solar projects only.

Read:
Eskom signs land leases with renewable investors
Eskom: 53GW of renewable energy needed to address SA’s electricity crisis
Sasol, ArcelorMittal to jointly explore green hydrogen, carbon capture projects

“Whilst this in itself is not a bad idea, the co-development of wind and solar is always the preferred option. It would be ideal if the environmental ministry would consider the expansion of the Redz in the province in order to allow for the development of wind projects to be expedited as much as possible,” says Mercia Grimbeek, head of project development at Enertag SA.

Component manufacturing hub

The company further stresses that Mpumalanga has several opportunities as a component manufacturing hub which will aid job creation through the renewable energy industry.

“An increase in local production has the potential to be paired with an increase in the deployment of renewable energy facilities. Furthermore, the deployment of wind and solar facilities means an increase in construction activity, the production of various electrical components, such as transformers, and a definite increase in logistics,” adds Enertag SA.

Commenting on the list of ideal provinces that offer grid availability for renewable energy projects, Grimbeek says the Free State, North West and Limpopo are also becoming attractive options.

Meanwhile, Swilling notes that while the Western Cape, Northern Cape and western part of the Free State are usually at the top of the list for ideal locations from the solar and wind resource availability point of view, the “resources are best where the grid transmission is the weakest”.

“Grid transmission is the strongest in Mpumalanga but it’s also fairly strong in KZN [KwaZulu-Natal]. It makes sense from a grid transmission point of view to start with Mpumalanga and KZN, while over the next four or five years, you build out the grid transmission infrastructure in the southwestern part of the country which is what Eskom is proposing,” he adds.

Listen/Read: Eskom signs leasing agreement with four IPPs

Nondumiso Lehutso is a Moneyweb intern.