South African energy minister Gwede Mantashe said his government will issue a request for proposal for 513 MW of battery energy storage by the end of February, as a way to help it tackle unreliable energy supplies.
He issued the statement in a tweet during Tuesday’s state of the nation address by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa. He said the request will be formally issued by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.
Its energy storage IPP procurement programme website stated that procurement will be by competition with energy company Eskom as buyer of stored energy and the department as procurer.
Mining Review reported that Mantashe endorsed the procurement of emergency or short-term power from existing facilities and other private power plants. South Africa will also be able to buy additional electricity from neighbouring countries.
Several South African platinum mines have blamed their production underperformance, in part, on Eskom-related power cuts.
Mining Review also said Mantashe reaffirmed investors on South Africa’s fertile ground for the discovery of world-class deposits of lithium, rare earth minerals, copper, nickel and manganese.
