Question NW2047 to the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

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10 September 2021 - NW2047

Profile picture: Mileham, Mr K

Mileham, Mr K to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

(a) What has he found to be the challenges that are currently experienced in erecting more wind farms in the Eastern Cape and (b) how much energy in megawatts does his department anticipate will be generated from the wind turbines located in the Eastern Cape?

Reply:

(a) There are currently no known challenges. Projects are expected to manage the process of securing land use rights from landowners and ensure compliance with environmental requirements.

The projects are also dependent on the availability of grid capacity which Eskom has indicated is starting to become a limitation.

(b)  The current procured and contracted capacity of Wind Energy Facilities in the Eastern Cape is about 1432 MW. According to the Grid Connection Capacity Assessment 2023 report published by Eskom, the Eastern Cape electricity network can accommodate an additional 1740MW of generation capacity and it will therefore require upgrading in the future.

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