Name and Location
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 Maanhaarberg Wind Energy Facility (96 MW)
• Longyuan Mulilo De Aar 2 North Wind Energy Facility (138 MW)
• Nojoli Wind Farm (88 MW)
• Khobab Wind Farm (138 MW)
• Noupoort Mainstream Wind (79 MW)
• Loeriesfontein 2 Wind Farm (138 MW).

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

The preferred concentrated solar power (CSP) bidders include Abengoa, with its Xina Solar One parabolic trough, joint venture (JV) Emvelo Holdings’ 100 MW Ilangalethu CSP1 project and the Redstone Solar Thermal Power 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.

Jobs To Be Created
Not stated.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Ongoing.

Latest Developments
Wind projects
The Longyuan Mulilo De Aar Maanhaarberg (96 MW) and Longyuan Mulilo De Aar 2 North (138 MW) wind energy facilities are being developed by China Longyuan Power, Mulilo Renewable Energy & Black Community Company. The projects require a R5-billion investment and are expected to reach their commercial operation dates.

The 88 MW Nojoli and 111 MW Gibson Bay wind farms, in the Eastern Cape, entered into service in October 2016 and May 2017 respectively. The projects were developed and funded by Enel Green Power RSA (EGP RSA), Italy’s largest power company.

The Gibson Bay Wind Farm entered into service earlier than planned, with final costs under the budget estimated on paper during the planning phases, and with no accidents recorded during the construction phase.

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 wind farms represent an investment of about R9-billion.

The Khobab Wind Farm lifted its first wind turbine in March 2017and is expected to start supplying electricity from all 61 turbines to the national grid by the end of 2017.

The Loeriesfontein 2 project is expected to be operational by the end of 2017. The wind farm is using a mobile transformer to allow for an early connection to the grid for commissioning of the turbines, prior to the energisation of the Helios substation, which is the permanent grid connection.

The Noupoort Wind Farm broke ground in July 2015 and was officially inaugurated in September 2016.

Solar projects
EGP RSA’s 82.5 MW Paleisheuwel, in the Western Cape, and EGP RSA’s largest power plant currently in operation, was completed and connected to the grid in May 2016.

EGP RSA’s 66 MW Tom Burke solar PV plant, in Limpopo, was completed and connected to the grid in June 2016.

EGP RSA’s 82.5 MW Pulida and 82.5 MW Adams solar PV projects, located in the Western Cape and the Free State respectively, were completed and connected to the grid in February 2017.

The 86 MW Mulilo Sonnedix Prieska PV solar park, in the Northern Cape, was completed and connected to the grid in July 2016. The project was developed by Sonnedix, Mulilo Renewable Energy and Ixowave Women in Power.

CSP projects
Abengoa, together with partners the Industrial Development Corporation, the Government Employees Pension Fund, represented by the Public Investment Corporation, and the Kaxu Community Trust, achieved practical completion of the Xina Solar One, in the Northern Cape, in August 2017. The project is Abengoa’s third solar project in South Africa, with a total installed capacity of 100 MW.

Emvelo Holdings, supported by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, Hosken Consolidated Investments, Public Investment Corporation and Grazigystix Proprietary, a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Cobra South Africa of the ACS Cobra Group, is developing the 100 MW Ilangalethu CSP1 project, in the Northern Cape.

The CSP plant will use mirrors to concentrate the sun to produce steam that is used to drive a conventional steam turbine, which, in turn, drives a generator to produce electricity. The project reached financial close in February 2015. Construction started in October 2015 and is expected to be completed within 36 months.

The Redstone solar thermal power project will be located in Postmasburg, near Kimberley, in the Northern Cape, adjacent to the 75 MW Lesedi and 96 MW Jasper PV solar power projects constructed by SolarReserve and its investment partners. The project is expected to enter commercial operation in 2018. Together, the three projects comprise the world’s first combined CSP and PV solar park with a total of 271 MW of generating capacity.

Biogas
The Mkuze biomass project, 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 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. It is the first and only successful landfill gas generation project in South Africa in the DoE’s REIPPPP.

Development will take three years to roll out across the five sites, with the final site expected to come into operation in 2018.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Futuregrowth, Enel, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), Enel Green Power, Abengoa, Cobra Energia, Guodian United Power, Aurora Power Solutions, juwi Renewable Energies, Total SA, Mulilo Renewable Energy, Ener-G, Red Cap, Mainstream Renewable Power, African Clean Energy Developments, Emvelo Holdings, SolarReserve and Navosync.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

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, 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.
RMB, tel +27 11 282 8000, fax +27 11 282 8008 or email info@rmb.co.za.
Aurora Power Solutions, tel +27 21 421 9764, fax +27 865 138 648 or email info@apsolutions.co.za.
Emvelo Holdings, tel +27 11 523 6299, fax +27 11 784 0285 or email admin@emvelo.co.za.
SolarReserve, tel +27 11 582 6880, fax +27 11 784 7549 or email info@solarreserve.com.
Building Energy Development Africa, tel +27 11 887 4364.