. Members agreed that the challenges of a complex and expensive bidding process, the lack of BBBEE policies, job creation, skills transfer and the lack of initiatives to take advantage of the opportunities to increase local content had to be addressed as a matter of urgency. The focus must be on the establishment of a local manufacturing industry as soon as possible to avoid foreign interests from dominating the sector in future. . Members from civil society raised concern as to why the Department of Energy decided not to release the tender documents to the public, and reasoning why the process was contrary to normal practice. The DoE denied that there was any secrecy about the procurement process. Windows 1 and 2 were reserved for large, commercial operators. The total value of the programme is approximately R120 billion. The DOE decided to recoup the cost of producing the documents from the bidders, who did not consider the fee of R15, 000 to be excessive. Subsequent phases of the programme would be aimed at small scale producers and householders and the cost of the tender documents would be adjusted accordingly. A different process would be followed as there would be significantly more bidders involved than was the case during the first two rounds of bidding. The information would be made available on a dedicated website, which would have controlled levels of access. . Members pointed out that even though several foreign bidders were successful in their bidding, the issue of skills transfer will become paramount. It is essential that a skilled labour force resulted from the billions being spent on the renewable energy programme. . The DoE stated that the implementation agreement included the commitments and obligations of the Independent Power Producers (IPP). If the IPP failed to meet their commitments, government had the legal right to cancel the agreement and the IPP would forfeit its investment. Likewise, the IPP could take government and Eskom to Court if the other parties failed to honor their obligations. . According to a representative of civil society 2.1% of project costs are earmarked for socio-economic development. However, there are no clear guidelines on how this money would be spent. Communities were approached by developers but there is uncertainty over how the socio- economic development programme would be implemented. . The DoE acknowledged that they were disappointed by the low level of participation by local companies. The RFP included minimum BEE requirements for bidders. The Department was disappointed that there were no South African bidders during the first two rounds but anticipated that there would be more local participants during subsequent phases. Renewable energy is a new industry in South Africa and it is acknowledged that there had been more development in other countries. Several foreign companies had opened offices in South Africa with the intention of taking advantage of the opportunities in this country. . Mr Audat said that extensive detail on the number and type of jobs that would be created had to be provided by bidders. The IRP gazetted in May 2011 formed the basis for the renewable energy programme. In developing the programme, the Department had to make certain assumptions. A key assumption was the number of 'green' jobs that would be created. In reality, the number of jobs is far less than the assumption. The Department had to reconsider how to derive the maximum possible advantage to the country from the renewable energy programme. . The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) had approved the inclusion of a charge for renewable energy development in the Eskom tariff. . The EDD and the DOE are working together on the job creation aspect of the programme. . The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is the leading financier of the renewable energy programme in South Africa. The IDC approved funding for projects totaling R10.5 billion since November 2011, of which R7.5 billion was for approved bidders. . The IDC is very involved with community development. Specific funding instruments had been developed for communities and a social support department has been established to work closely with communities. The IDC conducted a needs analysis of the area, shared information and worked closely with the communities during the procurement process. R1.5 billion of the approved funding is to ensure that the community obtained a share in the renewable energy projects in their area. Most of the projects funded by the IDC allowed for at least 10% shareholding by the local community. . The IDC takes localization very seriously and acknowledged that it is difficult to achieve the 35% local content requirement. . According to the IDC, CSP must not be disregarded. CSP has the greatest potential for creating jobs and has the potential to supply the bulk of the base load. Much is being done to develop new CSP technologies and it is easy to achieve a 60 percent local content target. . The Department is encouraged to consider the amount spent on research and development, not only in renewable energy technology but also on the development of new products. Some research is being done at Universities but there is a critical research gap requiring funding . At a recent workshop arranged by the Department of Trade and Industry, a Chinese delegate advised that China had no localization targets for the first few years of its renewable energy programme. It must be acknowledged that it takes time to establish a new industry