South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources has received bids for 2.6 GW of renewable capacity from 102 bidders in the course of the country’s fifth renewable energy tender, which was launched in March. This is a record result demonstrating that the country is on a stronger footing for renewable energy investment than it has been in the past. The government is taking steps to ensure that new generating capacity is built soon. Now that domestic renewables manufacturing has atrophied – which had mostly covered things like aluminum frames for photovoltaics modules – there is little mention of the local content requirements which had impaired the tenders of the 2010s, except from national photovoltaic and wind associations complaining about exemptions granted…