Name and Location
Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) – fourth window.

Location
South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Department of Energy (DoE).

Project Description
Twenty-seven REIPPPP project agreements were signed in April 2018.

The preferred bidders include 12 wind farm projects and 12 solar photovoltaic (PV) projects.

The wind projects include:

• Roggeveld Wind Farm, on the border between the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces (147 MW);
• Karusa Wind Farm, in the Northern Cape (140 MW),
• Nxuba Wind Farm, in the Eastern Cape (140 MW);
• Golden Valley Wind Farm, in the Eastern Cape (120 MW);
• Oyster Bay Wind Farm, in the Eastern Cape (140 MW);
• Soetwater Wind Farm, in the Northern Cape (140 MW);
• Kangnas Wind Farm, in the Northern Cape (140 MW);
• Perdekraal East Wind Farm, in the Western Cape (110 MW);
• Excelsior Wind Farm, in the Western Cape (32 MW);
• Wesley-Ciskei Wind Farm, in the Eastern Cape (35 MW);
• Copperton Wind Farm, in the Northern Cape (102 MW); and
• Garob Wind Farm, in the Northern Cape (140 MW).

The solar PV projects include:

• Sirius Solar PV Project One, in the Northern Cape (75 MW);
• Droogfontein 2 Solar Park, in the Northern Cape (86 MW);
• Dyason’s Klip 1, in the Northern Cape (75 MW);
• Dyason’s Klip 2, in the Northern Cape (75 MW);
• Konkoonsies II Solar Park, in the Northern Cape (86 MW);
• Aggeneys Solar Park, in the Northern Cape (45 MW);
• Loeriesfontein Orange project, in the Northern Cape (75 MW);
• De Wildt Solar Park, in the North West (50 MW);
• Bokamoso Solar Park, in the North West (78 MW);
• Zeerust Solar Park, in the North West (75 MW);
• Greefspan PV Power Plant Number Two Solar Park, in the Northern Cape (55 MW); and
• Waterloo Solar Park, in the North West (86 MW).

The list includes the 100 MW Redstone Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project, in the Northern Cape; the 5 MW Kruisvallei mini-hydro project, in the Free State; and the 25 MW Ngodwana Energy biomass project, to be fuelled using waste Sappi wood chips, in Mpumalanga.

Potential Job Creation
The 27 new projects will potentially create 58 000 new jobs.

Capital Expenditure
The successful fourth-round bids are valued at an estimated R56-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
The Roggeveld Wind Farm, which was developed by G7 Renewable Energies and then taken over by Building Energy, is expected to be South Africa’s most efficient wind farm. The project started construction in April 2018 and is expected to be completed in April 2021.

Construction on Enel Green Power’s Nxuba Wind Farm started in February 2019 and is expected to be completed by September 2020.

Construction of Enel Green Power’s Garob and Oyster Bay wind farm projects started in July 2019. Construction on Soetwater and Karusa started in November 2019. All five wind farms are expected to be operational by 2021.
Oyster Bay is expected to be operational in the first half of 2021, while Garob, Soetwater and Karusa are expected to be operational in the second half of 2021.

Mainstream Renewable Energy’s Kangnas and Perdekraal wind farms started construction in June 2018 and are expected to be completed in late 2020.

BioTherm Energy’s Excelsior and Golden Valley wind farms started construction in 2018. Excelsior was expected to reach commercial operation by the fourth quarter of 2019, while Golden Valley is expected to reach commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2020. Construction of the Konkoonsies II and Aggeneys solar PV projects started in 2018 and are expected to reach commercial operation in 2020.

Construction of EDF Renewables’ Wesley-Ciskei Wind Farm was expected to start in October 2019, with commercial production expected to start in June 2021.

Elawan Energy’s Copperton Wind Farm is expected to come into operation in 2020.

Scatec Solar’s Sirius Solar, Dyason’s Klip 1 and Dyason’s Klip 2 solar PV projects were connected to the grid in February 2020 and April 2020 respectively.
 

Sturdee Energy, the lead developer of the De Wildt, Bokamoso, Waterloo, Droogfontien 2, Zeerust and Greefspan 2 solar parks, reached financial close on the project in July 2018, while juwi started construction on the Droogfontein 2 and Bokamoso solar projects in 2018. Waterloo was expected to start construction in the first half of 2020.

Construction of GRS’s Greefspan 2 is expected to be completed by November 2020.

Construction on the Ngodwana Energy biomass project started in July 2019.

The Redstone Concentrated Solar Power project is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2022.

The planned activities of the above-mentioned projects are subject to Covid-19 developments.

Latest Developments
Wind projects:
Perdekraal East Wind Farm installed its forty-eighth and final wind turbine, two weeks ahead of schedule, on March 24.

The final lifting was a celebratory moment for the largely South African crew members, who have since left the construction site, in compliance with the Covid-19 lockdown, which came into effect just three days after this milestone.

The Kangnas Wind Farm completed the installation of all 61 wind turbines two weeks ahead of schedule in March 2020.

With all turbines now installed, the project is advancing to its commercial operations date later this year.

The next step in the development will be the handover of the two main power transformers.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Enel Green Power (Nxuba, Oyster Bay, Garob, Karusa and Soetwater wind farms); BioTherm Energy (Golden Valley, Excelsior, Konkoonsies II, Aggeneys wind projects); Goldwind (engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, contractor – Excelsior and Golden Valley projects); ET Solutions (EPC contractor – Aggeneys and Konkoonsies II projects); Mainstream Renewable Power (Kangnas and Perdekraal East wind farms); Concor and Conco (construction contractor – Kangnas and Perdekraal East wind farms); Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (supply and installation of wind turbines – Kangnas and Perdekraal East wind farms); Ngodwana Energy (biomass project); ELB Engineering Services, KC Cottrell and the ELB Educational Trust (EPC contractor – Ngodwana Energy biomass project); Building Energy and G7 Renewable Energies (Roggeveld Wind Farm); Nordex (wind turbines – Roggeveld, Nxuba, Copperton and Garob wind farms); Scatec Solar (Sirius Solar, Dyason’s Klip 1 and Dyason’s Klip 2 solar PV projects); EDF Renewables (Wesley-Ciskei Wind Farm) and Vestas (EPC); Elawan Energy (Copperton, Roggeveld, Karusa, Nxuba and Golden Valley wind farms and Redstone CSP); Acwa Power SolarReserve Redstone Solar Thermal Power Plant (Redstone CSP); Solar Capital (Loeriesfontein solar PV project); Sturdee Energy (De Wildt Solar Park) juwi Renewable Energies (EPC and operation and maintenance contracts – Waterloo, Bokamoso and Droogfontein 2 solar parks); Old Mutual Life Assurance Company and AECD (Droogfontein 2 and Zeerust solar parks); GRS (Greefspan PV Power Plant Number Two Solar Park); Vestas (wind turbines – Karusa and Soetwater wind farms); and Acciona (wind turbines – Copperton Wind Farm) and Besamandla (subcontract for civil and electrical works – Aggenys and Konkoonsies solar parks).

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.