The chief executive of solar project developer SOLA Future Energy, Dom Wills, said the agreement would put an end to a two-year period of great uncertainty for the South African renewable energy industry.
According to the government, solar and wind which are the cheapest forms of electricity would help to drive power prices down when implemented on a national scale .
Experts in the sector also say Eskom, which supplies about 95 percent of South Africa’s electricity, has been reluctant to sign new deals with independent power producers.
“The delay in signing these agreements has resulted in many job losses in industries that were set up to support the programme,” Wills said.
He however explained that it is expected that over the next 3 years, at least 61,000 jobs or six percent of government’s targeted 1 million jobs will be created in renewables.
He added that the government’s strong signal to the renewables industry would also help South Africa recover its former position as a leader in independent power production.
