Independent power producers - success stories and opportunities

South Africa has a large, aging coal-fired power fleet generating the bulk of the country's electricity. This fleet is one of the main contributors to the country's carbon emissions, has expensive operation and maintenance costs, and has recently proven incapable of meeting electricity demand on a consistent basis. Meanwhile, South Africa is endowed with world class wind and solar resources as the cost of clean energy technology is rapidly declining. Power system models have repeatedly demonstrated that scaling up renewable energy generation is the most cost-optimal energy pathway for the country. South Africa has seen past successes in stimulating growth and investment into the renewable energy industry and facilitating additional capacity onto the national electricity grid system, through the implementation of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). The REIPPPP succeeded in the procurement of 2.3 GW solar PV and 3.4 GW wind energy since its inception in 2011.

Italian companies have shown that they are able to seize the opportunities offered by the boom of renewables in South Africa.

The presence of Enel Green Power (EGP) stands out above all. Enel obtained contracts in South African public tenders for a total of 1,229 MW of wind and solar energy, with a total investment of over 1.5 billion euros. In the webinar, they will present their experience.

Opportunities are there for large entities, but success stories have been recorded also by less renowned groups.

Overall, today's webinar will:

- Present the opportunities that the energy market liberalization is creating

- Present the case for the energy transition for Municipalities, Mines and the Private sector

- Present the government policy about Renewable in South Africa and step taken by civil societies and government organization etc…to advocate for the sector

- Present Res4Africa Initiative

- Provide access to a platform for B2B and B2G engagement at PowerGen (AUW 2020-2021)

- Unpack possible financing for feasibility studies for Italian Companies