South African energy regulator NERSA has announced that it has approved a total of seven power generation licences for selected bidders.
- Three of the bids have gone to Turkey’s Karpowership to generate power on floating gas ships at ports, according to the spokesperson of the company.
South African energy regulator NERSA has announced that it has approved a total of seven power generation licenses for selected bidders. Three of the bids have gone to Turkey’s Karpowership to generate power on floating gas ships at ports, according to the spokesperson of the company. The licenses were for three ports – Coega, Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay – that would collectively supply around 1 200 MW of capacity.
The SA government’s plan to generate power on its floating gas ships and plug it into the South African grid has faced severe protests from environment activists and local fishing communities. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment refused environmental approvals for the projects alleging that it did not meet the public participation rules.
Apart from the power generation licence, the company has to clear several regulatory formalities, environmental approval, and litigation challenging the tender outcome that runs for 20 years. In March this year, the South African government granted Karpowership a major share of a 2 000 megawatt emergency power tender to provide the cheapest and quickest option for electricity. Licenses were also granted for two battery energy storage projects one involving Saudi Arabian utility developer ACWA Power and another where a unit of TotalEnergies held a 33% shareholding.
South Africa is going through a severe energy crisis that has crippled Africa’s largest industrial nation with regular electricity blackouts. Any further delays in finalising the emergency power tender could prolong the energy crisis that has cost billions of dollars.
