The building of three 140 MW wind farms in South Africa has been granted to EDF Renewables, a subsidiary of the Électricité de France (EDF) company. Under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement, the French firm is creating these clean energy projects (REIPPP).
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EDF Renewables is developing its three wind farms in South Africa in collaboration with local partners H1 Holdings and Gibb-Crede to meet the needs of the South African government. The subsidiary of the major Électricité de France (EDF) has been shortlisted to build three wind farms as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) 5th procurement.
The Northern and Eastern Cape provinces will host the Coleskop, San Kraal, and Phezukomoya projects. The overall capacity of the upcoming installations will be 420MW. Tristan de Drouas, Director of EDF Renewables in South Africa, stated that the victory was the product of EDF Renewables’ local team’s tireless efforts, which spanned 13 years in the nation. These projects can be developed quickly and will help South Africa achieve its low-carbon energy development goals. He further stated that EDF would also assist in increasing the electrical grid’s dependability.
Completing Financing in 2022
In addition to demanding local involvement in clean energy projects, the South African authorities expect to finish the financial structuring of the various projects authorized during the 5th bidding round in six months under the REIPPP. As a result, EDF hopes to finish funding its projects by spring 2022.
The installation’s building phase should span two years. Under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the state-owned corporation Eskom, the wind farms will be linked to South Africa’s national electrical system. According to EDF Renewables, these facilities will be able to supply power to 420 South Africans. These projects are part of the EDF Group’s CAP 2030 plan, which aims to double the company’s net renewable energy capacity from 28 to 60 GW by 2030.
The company is also increasing its investments in Africa’s most active energy markets, notably in the Rainbow Nation. Based in Cape Town, EDF Renewables has previously completed numerous sustainable energy projects in Nelson Mandela’s homeland with great success. The firm owns and manages four wind farms with a total capacity of 144 megawatts.
