Paper short abstract:

This paper addresses the tensions in the relationship between a South African local municipality and renewable energy 'Independent Power Producers' (IPPs) with regard to the 'local community development' commitments of the IPPs as mandated by the South African national government.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the significant investment in renewable energy that is currently taking place in the semi-arid Northern Cape Province of South Africa, as part of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). This paper addresses the tensions in the relationship between a local municipality and renewable energy 'Independent Power Producers' (IPPs) with regard to the 'local community development' commitments of the IPPs, through a case study of the rollout of six wind and solar plants in the local municipality. It draws particularly on the institutional, infrastructural and financial challenges facing the local municipality with regard to its responsibilities for local electricity distribution, and on the ad hoc and generally uncoordinated manner in which IPPs have gone about initiating the local community development projects they are required to support. The disjuncture has to be understood in relation to the history of electricity in twentieth-century South Africa and the disjointed and hotly contested manner in which policies on energy access, South Africa's energy transition, and local government have been developed since 1994. The paper stresses the importance of reconceptualising the contribution of renewable energy projects as not only about meeting South Africa’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions but also about benefiting local households, especially energy-poor households in towns hosting renewable energy projects. This paper concludes with proposals for how IPPs can be held more accountable to local constituencies with regard to their community development mandate.