Landmark Embedded Generation Support Programme for Municipalities shares 2024 opportunities available now.
In recent years, South Africa has experienced a substantial uptake of embedded generation. According to the SALGA Status of Embedded Generation report, there is a minimum of 5 GW of solar PV that was installed around the country, as of the first quarter of 2023. Though the manifold increase is largely owed to a response to loadshedding, escalating electricity prices and decreasing prices of renewable energy technologies; embedded generation (EG) is a viable option for an increasing number of customer segments and the market is expected to grow exponentially.
As such there has been a need to support municipal utilities with establishing and enhancing their application and approval processes for embedded generation customers to safely integrate EG systems onto municipal networks. There has also been a need to develop sustainable business models for municipalities and to support various aspects of their energy transition. Thus, the Embedded Generation Support Programme for Municipalities was designed, and materialises as capacity building support in the form of training, customised ad-hoc technical assistance through a technical helpdesk of experts, access to resources and tools, and a peer exchange platform where all partner municipalities can ask questions, share experiences and lessons learnt.
In relation to training, two valuable resources are available for all municipalities and practitioners in the sphere. There is an Embedded Generation Resource and Training Portal which is free for anyone to access, and live training for the year for all partner municipalities. The open-source resource and training portal is a knowledge hub offering access to handbooks, tools, studies, guides and a variation of other documents, above certified training on various topics featured in the live training. The official 2024 Training Schedule (see below) features 8 courses between April 2024 and November 2024. It hosts topics such as Embedded Generation Tariff training, Wheeling, Bi-directional metering, Grid Impact training, and more.
Endorsed by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), this progressive and transformative support programme is being implemented by Sustainable Energy Africa NPC (SEA), Solar Training Centre, Digsilent Buyisa and Det Norske Veritas (DNV). An annual open call for applications into the programme was issued through SALGA in January. However, those who are still interested in specific training topics or require technical assistance on embedded generation should note that the project working group will still accept applications, depending on the budget and resources available.
For enquiries, to apply to join the EG Support Programme or for more details regarding the official 2024 Embedded Generation Support Programme training schedule please contact Sayuri Chetty (sayuri.chetty@giz.de).
| Date | Topic | Brief description |
| 09-10 April | Embedded generation tariff training | Understand how to design tariffs for EG customers that is fair to the customer’s business case and municipality’s revenue. Recommended that financial and technical staff attend. |
| 15-19 April | General embedded generation training | 5-day intensive training covering the basics for all things embedded generation. Forms the foundation for the support. Technical and non-technical staff may attend. |
| 07-08 May | Wheeling | Provides an overview of the steps municipalities need to take to facilitate electricity wheeling in their jurisdiction. |
| 05-07 August | Bi-directional metering | Understand metering concepts, why bi-directional metering is required for EG and the minimum metering requirements for these customers. |
| 26-28 August | Grid impact training: An overview | General overview of grid impact studies and the requirements for these studies. Learn how to assess grid impact studies, complete the assessment form and interpret results. Covers all aspects under the municipality’s control. |
| 16-20 September | Grid impact training: Specialist training | Deep-dive on grid impact studies. |
| 07-11 October | EG applications 1MW & larger | Provides and overview of the guideline on processing embedded generation applications that are 1MW and larger, covering the process and requirements municipalities need to have in place and customers should adhere to. |
| 04-08 November | Power quality apportionment | Specialised training for exploring how to allocate power quality emission limits to embedded generation. |
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This initiative was supported by the South African-German Energy Programme (SAGEN) in collaboration with SARETEC. SAGEN collaborates with South African partners to support the country’s transition to a reliable, affordable and clean energy future. SAGEN is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), co-funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in cooperation with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), the National Treasury (NT), Eskom, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI).
Photo: ©GIZ
Authors: Nobantu Modise, nobantu.modise@giz.de & Sayuri Chetty sayuri.chetty@giz.de
#SAGEN #EmbeddedGeneration #EnergyTransition #FreeTrainingPortal #FreeResourcePortal #RenewableEnergyTraining #RenewableEnergyResources #SolarPV #EnergyEducation #Municipalities #LocalLeadership #SustainableCommunities
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