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Stortemelk hydro project, South Africa

21st November 2014

By: Sheila Barradas

Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

  

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Name and Location
Stortemelk hydro project, Free State, South Africa.

Client
Stortemelk Hydro, a special purpose vehicle that is majority-owned by Renewable Energy Holdings, of which NuPlanet is a subsidiary.

Project Description
Stortemelk is a registered 4.1 MW hydroelectric power installation, which will be situated on the wall of an existing reservoir, the Botterkloof dam.

It has a head of 14 m and a design flow of 30 m3/s, and will use a vertical Kaplan-type turbine. The project will result in emissions reductions of 172 662 t of carbon dioxide.

The project was a successful bidder in the second round of the Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

Value
The capital cost of R186-million has been financed with project finance debt from Rand Merchant Bank, while equity financing has been provided by Renewable Energy Holdings, the Mertech Group and an independent broad-based black economic-empowerment entity.

Duration
The project will be constructed over a two-year period, with commissioning scheduled for mid-2016.

Latest Developments
NuPlanet has achieved financial close and started construction on the Stortemelk hydro project, near Clarens, in the Free State.

The project will be built using a “split contract” structure with an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) arrangement and not the common engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) structure, which is commonly used in the REIPPPP.

NuPlanet MD Anton-Louis Olivier explains that, based on the company’s past experience with Bethlehem Hydro, it realised that a small hydro did not lend itself as easily to the EPC contract structure as does solar photovoltaic or wind projects do. NuPlanet’s partners and lender agreed with this approach. The contractors on the project have been assigned to water-to-wire turbine, and generator and switchgear contractors Andritz Hydro of Germany and Indar Electrical of Spain, with Aurecon South Africa acting as the EPCM contractor and the civil works contract having been awarded to Eigenbau. The project is expected to employ an estimated 50 people during its construction. The appointed operations and maintenance contractor, TMC Operations & Maintenance, is also operating the Bethlehem Hydro power projects and has the expertise to operate the plant within a project finance context.

Olivier adds that, through the ongoing cooperation with Aurecon, NuPlanet has been able to implement several innovative measures in designing the project to take into consideration environmental concerns, ensure maximum availability and optimise maintenance. This has resulted in a vertical CAT turbine directly coupled to an air-/water-cooled generator thereby eliminating the forced ventilation and reducing the number of failure mechanisms.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Aurecon (EPCM), Eigenbau (civil construction), Indar Electrical and Andritz Hydro (plant's turbine, generator and switchgear) and TMC Operations & Maintenance (operations and maintenance).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
NuPlanet Project Development, Anton-Louis Olivier, tel +27 12 349 2944, fax +27 12 349 2944 or email al@nuplanet.co.za.
Aurecon, tel +27 12 427 2000, fax +27 86 556 0521 or email tshwane@aurecongroup.com.
Eigenbau, tel +27 11 244 8700, fax +27 11 465 2080 or email eigenbau@mweb.co.za.
Andritz investor relations, Petra Wolf, tel +43 316 6902 2722.
TMC Operations & Maintenance, tel +27 12 349 2944 or fax +27 12 349 2944.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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