The Western Cape governments efforts to enhance energy security through collaboration with independent power producers are starting to show significant results, says Premier Alan Winde.
He was speaking during an opening address for the first session of the 7th Western Cape Provincial Parliament on July 31.
According to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), 39% of the total investment value of new generation projects over R7 billion registered between January and March 2024 is concentrated in the Western Cape, Winde said.
This achievement has led to an installed capacity of 213 MW. Of the 105 new generation facilities registered, 21% are located in our province, Premier Winde stated. He also noted that the Western Cape Energy Resilience Programme has already initiated the development of 2,000 MW of new energy, with 743 MW of capacity added to the provinces power system in the 2023/24 period alone.
Premier Winde further announced that the province is on track to make at least one small town load-shedding-free, starting with Riversdale. We aim to demonstrate that energy security can be achieved even in smaller towns with limited budgets, outside the major metros, he said.
Winde reported on the impact of the provinces Alternative Energy Support Programme, which supports SMMEs by providing solar backup systems. To date, the programme has installed 12 solar backup systems at municipal SMME trading hubs across seven municipalities, he said.
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