Barbara Creecy has conceded that traders in some of the largest economies in the world are unlikely to prioritise trade with SA because of its high carbon-intensive production processes.
SA working towards low-carbon, climate resilient economy: Barbara Creecy timeslive.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timeslive.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In light of the fact that the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, has deviated from the cabinet approved Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), South Africa’s roadmap for electricity generation, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Minister to request the immediate timeline for restarting the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPP) bid windows. He must also do good on his commitment to an annual process to procure more generation from independent power producers (IPPs). Minister Mantashe has decided to include the procurement of 2 500 MW of nuclear power by 2024 in his Ministerial Performance Agreement. This despite the IRP containing no such provision and his neglect to implement the procurement of renewable energy through IPPs – a key area of the IRP that both he and President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeatedly and unambiguously committed to.
The recent history of South Africa s energy landscape has not been great. With poorly maintained infrastructure, delayed construction of new capacity, illegal connections and cable theft; news headlines on the topic of SA s electricity are rarely good.
However, despite the tough year 2020 has been, there are some good news stories on the horizon, driven by the Constitutional Court’s decision on municipal use of renewable energy, and the opening of Bid Window 5 for the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REI5P). Here are my five energy predictions for 2021:
Barry Bredenkamp, general manager: energy efficiency and corporate communications at Sanedi