Name and Location
Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) – third window, nationwide, 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, CSP South Africa (100 MW), joint venture (JV) FG Emvelo’s Karoshoek project and Cobra Energia (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.
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 will be developed by China Longyuan Power, Mulilo Renewable Energy & Black Community Company. The two projects will feature 67 and 96 wind turbines of 1.5 MW each respectively.
The projects will require a R5-billion investment.
The 87 MW Nojoli and 111 MW Gibson Bay wind farms, in the Eastern Cape, are being developed by the African Infrastructure Investment Management group and are being funded by Enel Green Power (EGP), Italy’s largest power company.
The Gibson Bay Wind Farm is expected to enter service in the first half of 2017.
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 Loeriesfontein project is expected to be operational by the end of 2017.
The Noupoort Wind Farm broke ground in July 2015. All 35 turbines have now been installed and the project is quickly progressing towards commercial operation in July; this follows closely on the announcement that the project has been connected to the Eskom grid and commissioning of wind turbines has started.
Delivery of turbines to the Khobab Wind Farm was due to start in March 2016, and the farm is expected to be operational in late 2017.
Solar projects
EGP is developing the 66 MW Tom Burke, the 82.5 MW Paleisheuwel, the 75 MW Pulida and the 82.5 MW Aurora solar PV projects, in the Western Cape, the Free State, Limpopo and the Northern Cape respectively.
The 86 MW Mulilo Sonnedix Prieska PV solar park, in the Northern Cape, is on schedule, within budget and nearing completion, according to IPP Sonnedix, which has undertaken the project with minority partner local renewable-energy developer Mulilo. The project is set to connect to the grid in third quarter of this year.
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, is building Xina Solar One, Abengoa’s third solar project in South Africa, with a total installed capacity of 100 MW. The construction of this plant started at the end of 2014 and is expected to start operating in 2017.
FG Emvelo, a JV between FG.de, a German group of companies, and Pan-African company Emvelo Projects, is developing the 100 MW Karoshoek CSP project, in the Northern Cape. The CSP plant will use boilers for direct steam generation based on the linear Fresnel technology.
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 mid-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 first and largest 5 MW facility set to begin operation at Robinson Deep at the end of 2016. The 3 MW Goudkoppies facility is planned to open by late 2016. Plants at Marie Louise and Ennerdale will open in 2017, with the 1 MW Linbro Park facility scheduled for completion in mid-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, FG Emvelo 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 Patricia Malo de Molina Meléndez, 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.
FG.de, tel +49 941 200009-0, fax +49 941 200009 99 or email info@fg.de.
Emvelo, tel +27 11 523 6299, fax +27 11 784 0285 or email admin@emvelo.co.za.
ABB Power Products & Systems head of communications Harmeet Bawa, tel +41 43 317 6480, fax +41 43 317 6482 or email harmeet.bawa@ch.abb.com.
Building Energy Development Africa, tel +27 11 887 4364.