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South Africa Unveils Bidders For REIPPPP BW 6

Solar Outshines Onshore Wind In South Africa’s REIPPPP Bid Window 6 That Received 9.6 GW Bids

Anu Bhambhani
  • The bid window 6 of South Africa's REIPPPP has been oversubscribed with a total of 56 projects bringing in 9.6 GW offers
  • Of the total, 33 projects represent 5.5 GW solar PV capacity within the range of 50 MW to 240 MW
  • Onshore wind energy facilities make up the remaining 23 projects offered with 4.1 GW capacity

A total of 56 projects representing around 9.6 GW renewable energy capacity, including 5.5 GW of solar PV have bid for bid window round 6 of the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

The 33 solar PV projects in the list range between 50 MW to 240 MW and are spread across Northern, Eastern and Western Cape, along with in Free State, North West and Limpopo regions.

The remaining 4.1 GW has been offered by onshore wind energy facilities – 23 projects ranging within 80 MW to 240 MW capacity. These are located across Eastern, Western and Northern Cape regions. The list is available on the government's IPPPP website.

Dealing with an ailing energy infrastructure and constant power outages, South Africa had increased the quantity of the bid window 6 from 2.6 GW to 4.2 GW without changing the share of solar PV that remained constant at 1 GW, while for onshore wind it increased from 1.6 GW to 3.2 GW (see South Africa Amends REIPPPP Bid Window 6).

However, the bids received for the oversubscribed window shows more interest among investors in solar PV technology as compared to onshore wind.