The company has nine solar photovoltaic projects in South Africa, six of which form part of the fourth bid window (and extension) of the Department of Energy (DoE) Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) programme, and are awaiting financial closure.
 

Impact on Bid Window 1 and 2 projects
 

SunEdison indicates that all its shareholdings, and specifically those previously held by its subsidiary SunEdison Energy Southern Africa in its operational Bid Window 1 and 2 projects (i.e. the Soutpan, Witkop and Boshoff Solar Park projects), had already been transferred to a seperate asset holding Yieldco, Terraform Global, prior to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing on 21 April 2016. Terraform Global is not part of the SunEdisons's Chapter 11 filing.
 

Impact on Bid Window 4 projects
 

Six projects awarded to SunEdison as developer under Bid Window 4 (and its extension) are awaiting financial closure, prior to the conclusion of power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Eskom and implementation agreements with the DoE, before commencement of construction.
 

Although there may be significant local and international appetite to acquire SunEdison's financial interest in these projects, any such change in the proposed ownership structure after bid award and prior to financial closure will be subject to the approval of the DoE.
 

The current uncertainty created by SunEdison's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and possible changes in the ownership structure of SunEdison's six Window 4 projects, may delay or even prevent financial closure of these projects.
 

An additional hurdle to overcome before financial closure can take place is the receipt of final and binding quotations from Eskom for grid connection. These should have been provided by Eskom in April 2015, but the utility has delayed the process due to funding shortages and disagreements as to what grid upgrade costs are to be borne by Eskom, and what are to be borne by the renewable energy project... (more)

 

The South African National Energy Association (SANEA) invited Nel to give the lecture at the April meeting held in Johannesburg. A key feature in the energy sector is that policy makers, planners and regulators are less able to forecast demand and customer behaviour or to provide appropriate policy, supply capacity and regulation going forward.
 

Nel said it is clear that planners and utilities are way too slow, and cannot cope with the rapid change needed. The forces shaping the future of the grid, and the utilities that own and manage them, are rapidly making long-term planning obsolete, as they cannot keep up with technology advancements and the expectations of consumers.
 

The question raised is: what are these forces, and how will consumers, producers of energy, and infrastructure owners respond to compete in the future?... (more)