A major boost Billions of rand have been committed for the construction of technologies such as grid-connected wind towers

African continent over the past 20 years,” the report notes.

According to the report, the SA government started exploring feed-in tariffs (FITs) in 2009, but these were later rejected in favour of competitive bids. FITs have been the most widely used government support mechanism for accelerating private investment in renewable energy generation. They are meant to reflect the costs of producing particular kinds of energy, as predetermined by government analysis (rather than set as a result of competitive bidding). They are used in offers of longterm supply contracts to renewable energy producers. However, competitive tenders or auctions have also emerged in many jurisdictions as acceptable techniques, especially in emerging economies. Tenders have the potential to offer lower prices, while still providing adequate incentives for market entry by renewable energy suppliers.

The first bidding round of the REIPPPP was held in 2011 and, to date, two more bidding rounds have been held with a fourth round due to commence soon. To date the initiative has resulted in 64 renewable energy projects of different sizes at different sites. A total of $14bn in investment has been committed for the construction of 3 922 MW of capacity in technologies such as grid-connected wind, photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP), as well as smaller amounts of hydro, landfill gas and biomass energy. The first of these projects are already in operation.

According to the department of energy, 2 808 MW of renewable generating capacity still remains to be allocated in terms of the short to medium-term target of about 7 000 MW of renewable energy. This comprises 1 041 MW of solar PV capacity;