South African energy developer Mulilo Renewable Energy reports that it is poised to begin construction on four Northern Cape projects with a combined vlaue of R8.8-billion and a collective capacity of 385 MW. 

The projects, which are being pursued with partners, include 150 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity and 235 MW of onshore wind energy.

All four were selected following the third bidding round under South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme and recently reached financial close.

The projects are located near the towns of Prieska and De Aar, where the first round  Mulilo Renewable Energy Solar PV Prieska and Mulilo Renewable Energy Solar PV De Aar have been completed and are currently feeding into the grid.

The 75 MW Mulilo Prieska PV project will break ground in March, while the 75 MW Mulilo Sonnedix Prieska project will commence in June.

The Mulilo Prieska PV is owned by a consortium that includes Mulilo, Total SA, Calulo Renewable Energy, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Futuregrowth Asset Management and a local community trust. Debt funding is provided by the IDC, Nedbank and Absa.

The project will utilise SunPower’s monocrystalline modules mounted on a single axis tracking system, and SunPower Energy Systems will assemble the solar modules at its Cape Town factory.

The Sonnedix Prieska project, meanwhile, will make use of locally assembled polysilicon modules mounted on fixed axis frames. The venture includes a consortium consisting of Sonnedix Solar South Africa, Mulilo Solar Enterprises, Ixowave and a local community trust.

The debt funding for the project is provided by Nedbank Capital and Standard Bank, while Juwi Solar South Africa will act as the engineering procurement and contruction contractor.

The two wind facilities, with capacities of 139 MW and 96 MW, would be are located north and south-west of De Aar respectively and will be constructed by Longyuan Engineering South Africa. Both projects have debt funding from Nedbank and the IDC.