The Western Cape has another plan to move away from load shedding

The Western Cape government has been on an investment drive to Europe, exploring ways to make the province more energy efficient.

Western Cape premier Alan Winde has taken a delegation to France and Germany this week, following a week in the United Kingdom and Belgium, meeting with key players in the European energy market.

“The damage rolling power cuts are doing to the provincial economy is considerable. That is why we have to intensify and expand our green energy drive by boosting our relations with European partners and finding the right energy mix for our province,” said Winde.

The national power utility Eskom has been stifling the country’s economy as well as its citizen’s livelihoods, he said. The group recently announced the extension of load shedding at stage 3 through to Saturday, with little hope of reprieve on the horizon.

Winde said that South Africa needs to be open-minded when looking for solutions to deal with load shedding.

“South Africa’s energy production woes are never far from my mind. At almost all the discussions through this trip where energy-related matters were raised, we were keen to listen to our European counterparts about how they are looking at alternative, sustainable ways to generate power.”

“What is at the forefront of my mind is how we as the provincial government enable an energy-resilient environment and what is the right energy mix for the province,” said Winde.

The delegation is set to look into the new “energy market” seen in Europe, which is experimenting with Green Hydrogen (GH2). According to the premier, the province is in the ideal position for local GH2 offtake and export – this aligns the province with its goal of being the hub for South Africa’s green economy.

The Western Cape has already launched a number of initiatives to try and mitigate the failings of the national power utility, including, among others:

• Issuing tenders for mitigation plans;
• Successfully deploying the use of the Steenbras Hydro Pumped Storage Scheme;
• Opened up the possibility of 200MW of procured energy from Independent Power Producers (IPPs);
• The City of Cape Town has also allocated R15 million this year to pay for energy generated by small-scale embedded generators through the feed-in-tariff;
• The city is exploring a type of ‘rewards scheme‘ for residents and businesses that voluntarily shut off their power to help alleviate pressure on the grid.

Winde said that harnessing the potential of GH2 and solar energy combined with an increase in foreign investment in the energy sector was part of the critical discussions with industry figureheads such as:

• Hydrogen Europe is focused on a shift away from fossil fuels and toward full reliance on renewables.
• The Port of Antwerp-Bruges, which intends to be the global hub for hydrogen importation.
• The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
• Proparco Groupe AFD, a global renewables financier.

“If we can attract increased foreign investment and entice more would-be entrepreneurs into the power production field, especially renewable energy, we can help resolve South Africa’s electricity shortfall and create more jobs in the process,” said Winde.

Last year, the Western Cape government and the State of Bavaria initiated discussions with potential areas of collaboration, including a just energy transition and Green Hydrogen.

South Africa is currently awaiting cabinet approval of an $8.5 billion plan to transition away from using coal to generate electricity.

Many of the countries involved in the agreement are from the EU; however, it has stalled with John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate, calling for president Ramaphosa to advance the deal and South African Environment minister, Barbara Creecy, bemoaning its complexity.

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