A R155-million cogeneration plant is being developed by a private power producer at Anglo Platinum’s (Amplats’) Waterval Smelter, in Rustenburg, with construction scheduled for completion by June 2014.
Eternity Power, a special purpose vehicle that is 80% owned by Investec Corporate and Institutional Banking (ICIB) and 20% by clean-energy project developer Vuselela Energy, is driving the project.
The facility will be the first in South Africa to employ the Ormat Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system, which will use waste heat from hot water received from the smelter to evaporate an organic liquid and drive an expansion turbine.
As the sole lender, Investec is providing R105-million, funded through debt, while an additional R30-million is being funded through an infrastructure grant from the Department of Trade and Industry. The balance of the project costs will be funded through equity.
ICIB project and infrastructure finance head Fazel Moosa says the cogeneration plant will offer cleaner and cheaper power and will allow the smelter to be partially independent of the grid.
Vuselela Energy and Eternity Power director Jacques Malan says the Amplats plant’s gross installed capacity would be 4.9 MW, but it was expected to run at an average rate of 3.2 MWh, depending on the available heat load. Over a year, the facility is expected to generate 20 GWh.
“We are excited about this pioneering initiative with our partners and look forward to future projects of the same nature,” Moosa adds.