Name and Location
RustMo 1 solar farm, North West, South Africa.

Client
Momentous Energy.

Project Description
The project will be located on a 19 ha site adjacent to the Marikana platinum mine, about 20 km south-east of Rustenburg and about 10 km north-west of Buffelspoort.

The proposed photovoltaic (PV) solar plant will have a maximum generating capacity of 7 MW, which will be fed into the national electricity grid as part of a power purchase agreement with Eskom and the South African Treasury.

The project includes the installation of 11 inverters and 29 808 PV solar modules, with a step-up transformer to connect to the 88 kV substation. The farm will produce 244 643 MWh of energy over the 20-year contract period.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
The project was awarded an independent power producer licence by the Department of Energy in November 2012.

The project is expected to be completed before the end of 2013.

Latest Developments
The RustMo 1 solar farm fed its first kilowatt-hour of clean electricity into the national grid on November 18, ahead of schedule.

The utility-scale solar farm has a total module surface of 94 650 m2, with more than 29 000 PV modules transforming solar energy into electricity.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Savannah Environmental (environmental basic assessment  and environmental control officer), Ove Arup & Partners (environmental- and social-impact assessments), Nedbank, the Industrial Development Corporation and Evolution One (debt finance), and juwi Renewable Energies (engineering contractor).

On Budget and on Time?
The project met its planned commercial operation date in November.

Contact Details for Project Information
Savannah Environmental, tel +27 11 234 6621 or fax +27 86 684 0547.
Momentous Energy, tel +27 87 741 1006, fax +27 86 599 2401 or email enquiries@momentousenergy.com.
Nedbank head of investor relations, Alfred Visagie, +27 11 295 6249
Industrial Development Corporation, tel +27 11 269 3000 or fax +27 11 269 3116.
Evolution One, tel +27 21 702 1290, fax +27 21 702 1483 or email info@inspiredevolution.co.za.
juwi Renewable Energies, tel +27 21 831 6100, fax +27 21. 831 6199 or email info@juwi.co.za.