Cape Town - The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has offered the City of Cape Town R5.9 million for technical assistance to add green energy to its energy mix and become less reliant on Eskom.
The funds were made available to help the City’s Sustainable Energy Markets Department with a number of projects related to renewable energy purchase and generation, and other sustainable energy projects.
Mayco member for energy, Beverley van Reenen, said the projects included energy efficiency in municipal buildings, electricity supply (the purchase of renewable energy), climate investment opportunities assessment and a green pricing approach.
“The City participated in a capital planning workshop hosted by the World Bank (WB) in December 2020, and based on the submission of the City at this event, the WB provided a linkage with officials from the IFC, with the intent to explore possible collaboration between the IFC and the City,” said Van Reenen.
Van Reenen said discussions on the nature of this collaboration and the service offered have been ongoing since January last year.
A letter of collaboration stated that the technical assistance was provided to the City free of charge, and there would be no co-payment or concomitant additional investment of resources by the City arising out of the transaction.
“The IFC and its team of consultants have the necessary expertise to render the assistance offered. The assistance will expedite and lend depth to the City’s endeavours in the relevant areas. The work is aligned to City policy and imperatives relating to energy sector reform and climate change mitigation,” said Van Reenen.
Energy and development sector technical expert Brenda Martin said the donation of technical assistance was important, given that Cape Town would be the first city in the country to embark on provincial auctions with the opening of its first round of procurement of renewable energy from Independent Power Producers (IPP).
“It is my hope that provincial auctions will lead the way in demonstrating that SA’s energy transition can be achieved, while also addressing our deeply-rooted socio-economic inequality,” said Martin.
Van Reenen said the matter required urgent attention, given South Africa's energy constraints and the changing energy governance landscape.