South African Feed-in Tariff Proposal as Bad as Feared

By Paul Gipe

 

South Africa’s National Energy Regulator (NERSA) released its proposed feed-in tariff policy in early December, 2008. It is as bad as feared by renewable energy advocates. See

While NERSA puts a bold face on its proposal and uses the language found in successful policies elsewhere, substance is lacking.

The principal flaws are short contract terms, 15 years versus 20-year contracts in Germany and 25-year contracts in Spain, and low tariffs for wind, landfill gas, and concentrating solar.

NERSA’s proposal leaves out solar photovoltaics entirely.

The tariffs proposed for wind energy and concentrating solar are significantly less than those in Europe.