SOUTH AFRICA: A programme to attract private investment in hydropower

The South African government is launching the DWS Hydropower Independent Producer Programme (DWS HIPP). This program aims to encourage independent power producers (IPPs) to invest in hydropower in South Africa.

After the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) which boosted investment in renewable energy in South Africa in recent years, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is launching the DWS Hydropower Independent Producer Programme (DWS HIPP). The aim is to attract private investment to exploit South Africa’s hydropower potential.

The program was also launched in response to the energy crisis that South Africa has been experiencing for several years and which has worsened in recent weeks, resulting in an increase in load shedding. Hydroelectricity can therefore help the public company Eskom to meet the electricity demand of South African households and businesses. The DWS is therefore implementing the DWS HIPP program as a matter of urgency, starting with a first bidding window that will open on April 17, 2023.

Exploiting South Africa’s hydroelectric potential

“One of the key objectives of the government’s energy action plan is to remove barriers to the creation of new generation capacity and unlock energy from many different sources, including independent power producers, to add as much power as possible to the grid,” says the DWS, which is inviting potential investors to tap into water resources, rivers and their infrastructure to generate clean energy.

Read also- AFRICA: the BII invests $200 million in hydroelectricity with Norfund and Scatec

For the upcoming call for expressions of interest, independent power producers (IPPs) can bid on predefined technologies. These include water impoundment (damming), river diversion for run-of-river power plants, pumped storage, and floating or kinetic turbines for small-scale power generation.

According to the Austrian turbine company Andritz, South Africa’s technically feasible hydropower potential is estimated at 14,000 GWh per year, of which about 90 percent has already been developed. Currently, South Africa has an installed hydroelectric capacity of 3,586 MW, including 2,832 MW of pumped storage capacity, for a production of 4,750 GWh of electricity per year, or about 2% of the national electricity mix.