Gas Project Attempts In South Africa Arduous, Says Wrtsil Boss

Gas has an important role to play in South Africas energy transition, Hkan Agnevall, CEO of Helsinki-based energy and marine power company Wrtsil, told African Business in an interview this week.

But despite the urgent need to bring more power onto the grid amid devastating load-shedding, he warns that the process of procuring gas-fired power units has been very arduous in the country.

There have been tenders they have been postponed, cancelled, they have been challenged, he says. We continue to be engaged in South Africa, but so far, few decisions have been made.

Karpowership, a Turkish company that delivers electricity via gas-fired powerships to several African countries, was selected as a preferred bidder for a 20-year contract in South Africa in March 2021. However, various legal and regulatory hurdles have delayed the project and it remains unclear when or if Karpowership will be able to supply power to the country.

Meanwhile, Agnevall notes that South African politicians appear to consider the whole social dimension of making the transition as being at least as important as the sustainability transition.