South Africa’s Department of Energy (DoE) said that its review of the renewable energy White Paper of 2003 will be finalized by the end of Q1 2011. DoE spokesperson Bheki Khumalo told Engineering News that the DoE team responsible for the review will submit a report or ‘Final draft: high-level renewable-energy policy’ by November 2010, and the document will then be released for public comment.
The White Paper, which initially outlined that 10,000 GWh should come from RE by 2013, will touch base on the developments that transpired from the Integrated Resource Plan 2010. However, it has been urged that targets be upped as the 10,000 GWh only equals 4% of the country’s total electricity generation capacity.
Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said that the initial target could be surpassed and has urged the DoE to consider all energy technologies. “Everything is driven off a vision,” emphasized Mainstream CEO Eddie O’Connor, adding that the target of 25% of South Africa’s power generation mix produced by renewable energy by 2025 – as proposed by the South African Wind Energy Association – was a good one.
The document is expected to be published for public comment by October or early November.
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