A review of the local community development requirements in South Africa's renewable energy procurement programme

South Africa’s National Government began procuring electricity from large-scale renewable energy plants in 2011. By May 2015, the renewable energy independent power producer procurement (REIPPP) programme has approved 79 wind, solar and hydro projects and tasked each of them to contribute towards local community development through socioeconomic and enterprise development, local ownership and local job creation. These requirements have to be fulfilled within a 50-km radius of the projects and oblige renewable energy companies to engage with the developmental opportunities and needs of communities around their project sites.

This report sheds light on the policy requirements and initial implementation experiences of the REIPPP. It explores emerging evidence of local community development schemes established by the renewable energy industry and proposes steps to overcome emerging challenges. Information in this report is based on a review of the bid documents submitted to the Department of Energy as well as engagements with policy stakeholders in public forums such as conferences and workshops. Stakeholders include Government and the private sector, nongovernmental organisations as well as members of communities engaged with renewable energy projects.

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A review of the local community development requirements in South Africa's renewable energy procurement programme

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