Wind and solar back in the mix

The government is due to sign deals with 27 independent power producers, effectively unlocking R56 billion of investments over the next two to three years and creating more than 61 000 jobs, an industry official said yesterday.

Chief executive of solar project developer SOLA Future Energy, Dom Wills, said this would end a twoyear period of great uncertainty for the renewable energy industry. It was also a clear nod from government that solar and wind were the cheapest forms of electricity and implementation on a national scale would help reverse Eskom’s drastic upward cost trend and drive power prices down, he added.

Experts in the sector say Eskom has been reluctant to sign new deals with independent producers.