Page 11 - AfrElec Week 46 2022

AfrElec POLICY AfrElec

SA’s electricity woes will

take years to fix, says

says Lekela Power

SOUTH AFRICA LEKELA Power, Africa’s largest renewable to acquire renewable energy for the grid, com-
power company, has said it will take years for panies set up to make towers for wind turbines
South Africa’s electricity supply troubles to ease, failed, and there is little local manufacturing
Bloomberg reported on November 14. capacity for solar panels.
The government’s bias towards coal has led “That cannot be re-established from one day
to the collapse of wind and solar energy manu- to another,” Antonopoulos told Bloomberg, esti-
facturers, Chris Antonopoulos, chief executive mating that it will take 2-3 years before the wind
officer of Amsterdam-based Lekela, told the and solar plants ordered by the government start
news agency in an interview. to improve the power situation. “The current
That legacy is exacerbated by global supply government is doing a lot. I am so happy that
chain issues slowing the construction of renew- they have changed.”
able plants, he said. Under President Cyril Ramaphosa, South
“There were two or three years when Eskom Africa has restarted government-run auctions
was arguing that coal was better and cheaper,” for the provision of renewable energy. Regula-
Antonopoulos told Bloomberg. During this tions for the construction of privately-owned
period, where “nothing happened, a lot of the power plants have also been changed, paving the
local industry collapsed”. way for mining and manufacturing companies
Africa’s most-industrialised country is still to either build or commission their own capacity.
reliant on coal for more than 80% of its power, According to Bloomberg, Lekela, which is in
the news agency writes. However, South Africa is the process of being acquired by Africa Finance
now pushing for more renewable energy amidst Corporation (AFC) and Egypt’s Infinity Group,
the worst-ever power cuts as the embattled state- operates wind power plants with a capacity
owned power utility Eskom struggles to main- of 624MW in South Africa and plans to bid in
tain its ageing coal-fired plants. future renewable energy auctions in the country.
According to Antonopoulos, in a five-year Lekela also has facilities in Egypt, Senegal and
period when South Africa halted a programme Ghana.™

Week 46 16•November•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11