JOHANNESBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2021) The South African government will seek bids for 2,600 megawatts of green energy in the coming weeks to address generation shortfalls, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday.
"We estimate that without additional capacity there could be a shortage of 4,000-6,000 MW and now in the coming weeks a request has been made of 2,600 megawatts from wind and solar," he said in the state of the nation address.
This will be followed by the procurement of an additional 11,800 MW from renewable sources, in line with the country's commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris climate deal.
South Africa has been suffering from electricity cuts for years. The government split the loss-making Eskom electrical utility to increase its efficiency. Ramaphosa said it was making progress in improving the reliability of the coal-powered power stations.
Ramaphosa has been under increasing pressure to pull South Africa, one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic, out of the economic nosedive after shutdowns wreaked havoc to its private sector, the biggest employer.
He said the government would launch a massive employment reform to empower young people, creating 400,000 job opportunities in the private sector in areas of education, arts, film, culture, subsistence farming, and municipal cleaning.
Ramaphosa also offered help to black industrialists and promised to bring the automotive industry back to full capacity. He said South Africa was still a lucrative investment destination for carmakers, such as Ford, which invested $1 billion in a car plant in Tswane.
