Name of the Project
Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) – third window.

Location
South Africa.

Client
Department of Energy (DoE).

Project Description
Seventeen renewable-energy developers have been appointed as preferred bidders, following the conclusion of bid submissions for the third round of the REIPPPP.

The wind projects listed include:
• Gibson Bay wind farm (111 MW)
• Longyuan Mulilo De Aar wind energy facility (100.5 MW)
• Longyuan Mulilo De Aar 2 North wind energy facility (144 MW)
• Nojoli wind farm (88 MW)
• Khobab wind farm (138 MW)
• Noupoort Mainstream wind farm (79 MW)
• Loeriesfontein 2 wind farm (140 MW).

The solar photovoltaic (PV) projects named are:
• Tom Burke solar park (66 MW)
• Pulida solar park (82.5 MW)
• Mulilo Sonnedix Prieska solar park (75 MW)
• Mulilo Prieska solar park (75 MW)
• Adams (82.5 MW)
• Paleisheuwel (82.5 MW).

The preferred concentrated solar power (CSP) bidders include Abengoa with its Xina Solar One project (100 MW), Karoshoek Solar One Project Company with its Ilanga (Karoshoek Solar One) project (100 MW).

One landfill gas bidder, the Johannesburg landfill gas-to-electricity project, with a capacity of 18 MW; and one biomass bidder, the Mkuze biomass project, with a capacity of 16 MW, were also named.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Ongoing.

Latest Developments
Wind projects:
The Longyuan Mulilo De Aar (100.5 MW) and Longyuan Mulilo De Aar 2 North (144 MW) wind farms projects, located in the Northern Cape, which are being developed by China Longyuan Power, Mulilo Renewable Energy and the Black Community Company, are on target to reach their commercial operation date. The two projects will feature 67 and 96 wind turbines of 1.5 MW each respectively. The projects will require a R5-billion investment.

The 88 MW Nojoli and 111 MW Gibson Bay wind farms, in the Eastern Cape, are being developed by the African Infrastructure Investment Management group and are being funded by Enel Green Power (EGP), Italy’s largest power company. The Nojoli Wind Farm comprises 44 wind turbines with a capacity of 2 MW each and was connected to the grid in October 2016.

The Gibson Bay Wind Farm is expected to enter service in the first half of 2017.

Mainstream Renewable Power is developing the 140 MW Khobab Wind Farm, the 140 MW Loeriesfontein 2 project and the 80 MW Noupoort development, all in the Northern Cape.

The Khobab Wind Farm has completed the lifting of the first of its 61 wind turbine generators ahead of schedule. It is expected that first power will be exported in the next three to four months and that the wind farm will start supplying electricity from all 61 turbines to the national grid by the end of this year.

The Noupoort Wind Farm broke ground in July 2015 and entered commercial operation in July 2016, with all 35 turbines at the R1.9-billion facility commissioned and connected to the Eskom grid.

Solar projects:
EGP is developing the 66 MW Tom Burke project, in Limpopo; the 82.5 MW Paleisheuwel project, in the Western Cape; the 82.5 MW Pulida project, in Limpopo; and the 82.5 MW Adams Solar PV project, in the Northern Cape.

TerniEnergia, on behalf of EGP, completed the construction of the 82.5 MW Paleisheuwel and the 66 MW Tom Burke solar plants in April 2016 and June 2016 respectively.

The Adams and Pulida solar farms were brought into operation in February 2017.

The 86 MW Mulilo Sonnedix Prieska PV solar park, in the Northern Cape, officially started commercial operations in July 2016. Construction was completed after only 17 months.

CSP projects:
Abengoa, together with partners the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the Government Employees Pension Fund, represented by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), and the Kaxu Community Trust, is building Xina Solar One, Abengoa’s third solar project in South Africa, with a total installed capacity of 100 MW. The construction of this plant started at the end of 2014 and is expected to start operating in 2017.

The Karoshoek Solar One Project Company, of which Emvelo, the IDC, Cobra Energia, the PIC, Investec and the Karoshoek Community Trust are shareholders, is developing the R10.4-billion Ilanaga (Karoshoek Solar One) project, in Upington, in the Northern Cape.

The Mkuze biomass project, in KwaZulu-Natal, with a capacity of 16 MW, being developed by Building Energy in partnership with Charl Senekal Trust, South Africa’s largest private sugar producer, will burn sugar cane tops and trash to generate high-quality baseload power. The project entails a R1-billion capital investment and is expected to be completed in mid-2017.

A consortium led by biogas expert Ener-G Systems is investing an estimated R230-million in five landfill gas-generation plants in Johannesburg, Gauteng. This is the largest landfill gas-to-power project to be developed in the country.

Development will take three years to roll out across the five sites, with the first and largest 5 MW facility set to begin operation at Robinson Deep at the end of 2016. The 3 MW Goudkoppies facility is planned to open by late 2016. Plants at Marie Louise and Ennerdale will open in 2017, with the 1 MW Linbro Park facility scheduled for completion in mid-2018.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Futuregrowth, Enel, EGP, Abengoa, Cobra Energia, Guodian United Power, Aurora Power Solutions, juwi Renewable Energies, Total South Africa, Mulilo Renewable Energy, Ener-G, Red Cap, Mainstream Renewable Power, African Clean Energy Developments, FG Emvelo and Navosync.

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
DoE departmental spokesperson Thandiwe Maimane, tel +27 12 444 4256, cell +27 82 450 8591, fax +27 86 581 8505 or email MediaDesk@energy.gov.za.

Companies Involved in the REIPPPP third window
Mainstream Renewable Power, Emmet Curley, tel +353 1 290 2027 or email emmet.curley@mainstreamrp.com.
Futuregrowth, tel +27 21 659 5300, fax +27 21 659 5333 or email info@futuregrowth.co.za.
Enel Green Power international press officer Roberta Vivenzio, tel +39 06 8305 1, fax +39 06 8305 3771 or email roberta.vivenzio@enel.com.
Abengoa communications department Patricia Malo de Molina Meléndez, tel +34 954 93 71 11 or email communication@abengoa.com.
Cobra Energia, tel +91 456 95 00, fax +91 456 94 50 or email central@grupocobra.com.
Mulilo Renewable Energy, tel +27 21 934 5268, fax +27 21 935 0505 or email info@mulilo.com.
Ener-G, tel +44 (0) 161 745 7450 or email info@energ.co.uk.
Top of Form
Aurora Power Solutions, tel +27 21 421 9764, fax +27 865 138 648 or email info@apsolutions.co.za.
FG.de, tel +49 941 200009-0, fax +49 941 200009 99 or email info@fg.de.
Emvelo, tel +27 11 523 6299, fax +27 11 784 0285 or email admin@emvelo.co.za.