South African independent power producer (IPP) Pele Green Energy (PGE) has been granted preferred bidder status on two 140 MW wind projects as part of the fourth bidding window for the Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
PGE investment and funding director Gqi Raoleka said in a statement that the announcement of the winning Round 4 projects, located in the Eastern and the Northern Cape respectively, would raise the group’s overall solar and wind power plant nameplate capacity in the country to 639 MW.
This followed PGE being awarded preferred bidder status on a 100 MW concentrated solar power (CSP) project, in the Northern Cape, in December, as part of Round 3.5 of the CSP-only bidding programme. The project was currently preparing for financial close before construction would start.
“This project is particularly significant owing to the enormous job creation potential during construction and through the operations and maintenance phase in comparison to regular solar photovoltaic. It is further significant as it will provide baseload renewable power into the South African energy grid,” he commented.
Elaborating on the group’s portfolio, Raoleka added that the 88 MW Nojoli wind farm, in the Eastern Cape and in which PGE was a co-shareholder, had reached financial close at the beginning of the year.
The project, which was majority owned by Enel Green Power, formed part of the third bidding window for the REIPPPP.