Question NW683 to the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy
22 March 2024 - NW683
Graham, Ms SJ to ask the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy
Whether, with regard to the licenses and authorisations required for independent power producers (IPPs), his department considered establishing a single portal to expedite the authorisations required for IPPs such as environmental impact assessments with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, water use licenses with the Department of Water and Sanitation and various land consents which can be used by IPPs and relevant government departments to ameliorate the bottlenecks; if not, (a) how is his department assisting IPPs to expedite these consents and authorisations and (b) will his department consider establishing such a portal; if so, (c) on what date does he envisage the portal to be operational and (d) does his department have buy-in from the various government departments?
Reply:
In July 2023 government launched an Energy One Stop Shop to assist Independent Power Producers (IPPs) with a streamlined process for various authorisations. The One Stop Shop falls under the stewardship of the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (DTIC) and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) only provides necessary support. To avoid duplication of effort, the DMRE does not intend to establish a similar function within government which will serve the same purpose but will continue to provide support to the DTIC.