2014 Market Intelligence Report: Renewable Energy

The report details South Africa's transition toward renewable energy, highlighting the Independent Power Producer (IPP) Procurement Program and the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). It examines four market segments: utility-scale projects, the Small Projects Bidding Programme, Eskom's Standard Offer Programme, and the growing private market. The document emphasizes the importance of local content and the Western Cape's role as a hub for renewable energy manufacturing and development.

• South Africa has contracted nearly 4000 MW of renewable energy installations through the Independent Power Producer Procurement Program, with the first utility-scale projects connecting to the grid in late 2013.
• The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) governs electricity generation technology choices; the 2010 version allocated 17.8 GW to renewables over 20 years, while a 2013 revision increased the integration pace to an average of 2.2 GW per year.
• The utility-scale bidding process has seen significant price reductions and high competition, with only 17 of 93 bids awarded preferred bidder status in the third round.
• Grid capacity and power evacuation are increasing constraints, as developers must bear the costs of bringing power to a substation; in 2013, the Western Cape had the highest number of approved Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) by region.
• The Small Projects Bidding Programme targets projects between 1-5MW with contract terms of five to 20 years, though high transaction costs for due diligence and contracting remain a primary concern.
• The private renewable energy market is growing due to falling PV prices and rising electricity costs, with some high-end domestic consumers paying up to 1.60 kwh for electricity.
• The Western Cape serves as the primary hub for the industry, with over 60% of successful projects from the first three bidding rounds (39 out of 64) being bid by developers based in the province.
• South Africa is pursuing localization through the Green Economy Accord and a Local Procurement Accord, the latter of which sets an aspirational target of 75% local manufactured products.

APA

Mulcahy, M. (2014). 2014 Market Intelligence Report: Renewable Energy. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/GreenCape-MIR-Renewable-Energy.pdf

Chicago

Mulcahy, Mike. 2014 Market Intelligence Report: Renewable Energy. GreenCape, 2014. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/GreenCape-MIR-Renewable-Energy.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mulcahy |first1=Mike |title=2014 Market Intelligence Report: Renewable Energy |publisher=GreenCape |date=2014 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/GreenCape-MIR-Renewable-Energy.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mulcahy20142014, author = {Mulcahy, Mike}, title = {{2014 Market Intelligence Report: Renewable Energy}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2014}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/Uploads/GreenCape-MIR-Renewable-Energy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }