Cliff Dekker Hofmeyr is the South African Wind Energy Association's Law Firm of the Year

DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr  has received the Law Firm of the Year award at the inaugural South African Wind Industry gala dinner hosted by the South African Wind Energy Association( SAWEA). The award was presented by the Honourable Minister of Energy ED Peters.

 South African Department of Energy's (DOE) IPP Procurement Programme is currently seeking to procure 3 625 MW of renewable energy capacity from independent power producers (IPPs) (including wind energy producers) between 2012 and 2016. Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr is currently advising preferred bidders under Round 1 and Round 2 and is under mandate for Round 3 of the programme.

"Acting for the lenders in the Redcap and Dorper wind projects and the developers of the Cookhouse and Tsitsikama wind projects put Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr at the forefront of wind projects that were granted preferred bidder status under Round 1 and Round 2 of the IPP Procurement Programme undertaken by the DOE,” said Kieran Whyte, Director and National Head of the Projects and Infrastructure practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

"Our ability to leverage the skills and experience of our global alliance partner DLA Piper ensured access to international best practice and contributed to our success. In addition we were able to harness the skills of multi -disciplinary practitioners in both our Johannesburg and Cape Town offices - a real team effort across the full value chain of each project,” Whyte said.

Whyte added that the latest and most advanced renewable energy technology had been introduced in South Africa because of the IPP procurement programme, which was great news for the country. A long term sustainable renewable energy procurement programme would stimulate job creation and localization opportunities.