Eskom looking unleashes 500MW of renewable energy from second land-lease tender

Power utility Eskom is set to host site visits next month for independent power producers interested in four new parcels of grid-ready land in Mpumalanga.

The electricity supplier will make these available under its long-term lease programme for the development of up to 500 MW of renewable energy generation.

The request for proposals (RFP), which was published in December, marks the launch of the second phase of the Land Lease Programme launched in April last year and focuses on land parcels within the borders of the Lekwa and Victor Khanye local municipalities.

BusinessTech Africa understands that 17 land parcels around the Majuba and Tutuka power stations in Mpumalanga were made available during the opening phase.

Back in October 2022, Eskom concluded 25 to 30-year lease agreements for land covering a total of 6 184 ha with five IPPs, namely HDF Energy South Africa, Red Rocket, Sola Group, and Mainstream Renewable Power Developments South Africa.

“Eskom’s Land Lease Programme was launched in April 2022. Through this programme, Eskom makes available some of its land to IPPs for the purposes of creating new electricity generating capacity,” said Eskom in a statement.

“These land parcels are in close proximity to network connection points, reducing the time required to build new grid connection infrastructure.

“Rather than buying the electricity from the IPPs, Eskom facilitates a process for the IPPs to be able to wheel the power over the Eskom grid, either for their own consumption, or to sell on to other consumers. Eskom wishes to work with the private sector to enable new capacity in line with the anticipated future, deregulated electricity industry.”

Meanwhile, the closing date for the RFP is 10:00 on February 27, and news coming to this website is that Eskom and the National Treasury have reached an agreement to support the utility in borrowing from commercial banks, should it be unable to reprioritise its own resources. 

“While neither Eskom nor the National Treasury would comment on the agreement or the amount likely to be sought, several people with knowledge of the talks confirmed the arrangement and said that Eskom was likely to seek R4 billion to get it through February and March, after which the new financial year will begin,” reports Fin24.