South Africa Streamlines Process For 203MW Wind Energy Storage Hybrid Project
Sep 28, 2023
The South African government awarded project agreements to two wind-solar-storage hybrid projects selected in a 2 GW technology-neutral tender held under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (RMIPPPP) in 2021.
At the end of August, the South African Department of Energy (DoE) signed two project agreements for wind-solar hybrid facilities. The facilities will be equipped with battery storage systems and will have generating capacities of 128 MW and 75 MW respectively.
In a statement, the ministry said, "The projects could meet the conditions precedent by December 2023 in order to reach financing in place and begin project construction. The new generation capacity is expected to be connected to the grid from 2025." The two projects were selected by the South African authorities in a 2 GW technology-neutral tender completed in March 2021 under the RMIPPPP. The initiative was launched in response to a short-term power supply gap that has long affected the country and its mining sector.
DoE said only five of the selected projects have so far been awarded PPAs.
One of the two projects that have been approved by the authorities so far is the Oya Energy Hybrid Facility to be built in Matjiesfontein in the Western Cape. The main developers and shareholders in the project are GDF International SA, G7 Power, Meadows Oya Energy and Perpetua RMI4P Oya.
The second is the Umoyilanga energy facility, which will be located in Avondale in the Northern Cape and Dassiesridge in the Eastern Cape, and will be owned and managed by French EDF and German investment company Perpetua Holdings.
The agreements include Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and the contracted sales will be regulated by the respective Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and South Africa's state-owned electricity provider Eskom.
In 2021, the South African government announced a list of preferred bidders to secure around 60% of the winning capacity in the RMIPPPP, which includes a number of renewable energy projects such as solar, wind and storage. Bid prices ranged from ZAR 1,468 ($77.40)/MWh to ZAR 1,885/MWh, with an average price of ZAR 1,575/MWh.
