Minister sees big changes

RENEWABLES: WILL BE UNPRECEDENTED FROM A SCALE POINT OF VIEW’

- Antoinette Slabbert

Determined to resolve the stumbling blocks standing in the way of faster roll-out.

In his first media briefing after being given Cabinet responsibility for energy, in addition to his former portfolio of electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on Monday promised a steep change in procurement government's renewable energy.

This comes as the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (Reipppp) has all but stalled, with bid window 6 having largely failed and bid window 7 being delayed.

In its initial phase, South Africa's Reipppp, which kicked off in 2011, was internationally recognised and hugely successful.

But around 2016, Eskom, under the leadership of Brian Molefe, refused to sign the power purchase agreements of 37 projects that had already been accepted by the government. These projects represented investments of R50 billion and 2 000 jobs.