The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has called on the public to comment on its master plan for renewable energy.
South Africa has in the past few months been trying to ramp up renewable energy projects to shield the economy from load shedding.
Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has said there were already 66GW of renewable energy projects in various stages of implementation in the country.
However, Ramokgopa warned that they need to expand the transmission lines to accommodate the projects.
The government would need more than R210 billion to expand the transmission lines in the next decade.
At the current rate, Eskom was expanding the grid by 300km a year, but that was not enough. The demand and urgency of the matter would require that Eskom expand the lines by 14,000 km in the next 10 years.
The Department of Mineral Resources said they want the public to comment on the South African Renewable Energy Master plan (Sarem).
This follows the demand for renewable energy. There were engagements with various stakeholders on the Sarem.
“Sarem aims to leverage the rising demand to unlock the industrial and inclusive development of associated renewable energy battery storage value chains in South Africa,” said the department.
The department will also hold public hearings on the master plan, but no date has been confirmed yet.
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