South Africa’s government published August 28 a revised draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2010–2030 which includes no explicit support for new CSP projects.
South Africa’s installed CSP capacity was 300 MW at the end of 2017. A further 300 MW of projects are expected online by the end of 2019.
The latest draft IRP sets out a least-cost approach to new independent power plants, and includes revised national assumptions on technology costs, power demand and Eskom’s power generation performance. The IRP ditches support for new nuclear plants in favor of PV, wind and hydro power capacity.
The table below shows the proposed annual build rates in the IRP, by technology class.
South Africa’s draft generation build plan
(Click image to enlarge)
Source: South African government’s draft Integrated Resource Plan (August 2018).
Market participants have 60 days to comment on the draft IRP.
In April, the South African government finally signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for 27 renewable energy projects, ending more than two years of delays due to state financing concerns. The agreements included ACWA Power’s 100 MW Redstone CSP project, awarded in 2015 at a tariff of $124/MWh for a period of 20 years.
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