Infrastructure
Question by:
Hon Matlhodi Maseko
Answered by:
Hon Tertuis Simmers
Question Number:
22
Question Body:
a) How many renewable energy projects have been earmarked by his Department, (b) how many are currently underway in the province, (c) how much will be spent on each project and (d) what is the potential generation capacity of these projects?
Answer Body:
- The Department is driving a number of key energy interventions as part of the Premier’s announced energy resilience programme. These interventions range from interventions to drive energy efficiency as evident in my Department’s Property Efficiency Report to specific infrastructure interventions such as the installation of rooftop PV on government-owned buildings, the installation of around 970 solar geysers valued at R24 Million through subsidised housing projects and the identification and release of state land for possible solar plant installations. Together with the Department of the Premier, the Provincial Treasury, the Department of Economic Development & Tourism and the Department of Local Government, my department will also drive further specific energy interventions around the development of an appropriate Independent Power Producer procurement framework for municipalities, the development of an energy project preparation facility for municipalities, a gas-to-power options and costing analysis, an analysis of the status of the grid infrastructure in the Western Cape towards identifying grid strengthening and expansion needs and the costing thereof, and identifying and unlocking barriers to new energy generation.
- While the provincial government tracks the various interventions across Western Cape municipalities it is difficult to quantify the exact number of energy interventions across the province as these are driven across all three spheres of government as well as the private sector.
- It is difficult to quantify the cost associated with each project given the number of role-players involved. At a Provincial level, the Premier in his state of the Province address has set aside R 1.1 billion over the MTEF period 2023/24 to 2025/26 for energy interventions with R 89 million earmarked to local authorities in 2022/23 to fund generators, while the Mayor of Cape Town has set aside R3,9 billion to end loadshedding. The remaining municipalities will collectively invest around R1.9 billion in energy infrastructure.
- The exact quantum of generation capability is yet to be determined given the number of role-players involved across the three spheres of government as well as the private sector.
Date:
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
