Lessons from South Africa’s renewable energy regulatory and procurement experience

Abstract

South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer (REIPP) procurement programme is hailed worldwide as a model for renewable energy procurement. Its success is far from experimental and haphazard and points directly to lessons acquired prior to, and during, the launch and running of the programme. This article explores the journey to the REIPP procurement programme and draws critical lessons from the process. It discusses the success of the REIPP procurement programme in developing the renewable energy sector in South Africa, drawing seven key lessons explain this success and exploring the remaining challenges. The article shows that, despite the need for further improvements and continual optimisation, the development of the REIPP procurement programme has been a positive illustration of successful policy and regulatory learning processes.