South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has called on Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to apply for water use authorisations to make use of the country’s water resources, watercourses and infrastructure to generate hydropower as an alternative energy to supplement the electricity currently available on the national grid.
DWS has invited IPPs to apply for water use licences for new hydropower projects.
The department has initiated the DWS Hydropower Independent Producer Programme (DWS HIPP) in an effort to allow for the available water infrastructure and watercourses, including rivers and dams, to be used to contribute to the power supply with renewable energy.
In a statement issued on 5 April 2023, the department said government has approved multipronged interventions to address the current energy crisis, which has led to loadshedding across the country, in order to manage the available energy.
“One of the key objectives of the government’s Energy Action Plan is to remove barriers to new generation capacity to unlock energy from different sources, including independent power producers, in order to add as much energy as possible to the grid, as quickly as possible. Linked to this objective is the intervention aimed at enabling and accelerating private sector investment in generation capacity.
“The department is inviting persons to make use of the water resources, watercourses and its infrastructure to generate power from renewable energy. The hydropower technologies that may be applied for include: impoundment, river diversion or run-of-river, pumped storage and floating or kinetic turbines (small-scale generating capacity). In addition, applications can be made for floating solar panels.”
In the statement the department said a hybrid briefing session, where interested applicants would be taken through the programme and application processes, was to be held on 11 April 2023 at Protea Hotel OR Tambo in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng.
It added that a window for applications will be opened on 17 April 2023 for interested parties to submit pre-applications for water use authorisations. Information on the application process is accessible in the Electronic Water Use Licence Application and Authorisation System (E-WULAAS) via DWS: E-WULAAS – Documents, on the home page of the department’s website.
Enquiries regarding the programme should be directed to Advocate Sipho Skosana by email at: Skosanam@dws.gov.za or on 082 808 5947, or Mr Tsunduka Khosa at khosat@dws.gov.za or on 082 940 7295.