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 list also 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.

The wind projects include:

• Roggeveld Wind Farm (147 MW)
• Karusa Wind Farm (140 MW)
• Nxuba Wind Farm (140 MW)
• Golden Valley Wind Farm (120 MW)
• Oyster Bay Wind Farm (140 MW)
• Soetwater Wind Farm (140 MW)
• Kangnas wind project (140 MW)
• Perdekraal East Wind Farm (110 MW)
• Excelsior wind energy facility (32 MW)
• Wesley-Ciskei Wind Farm (35 MW)
• Copperton Wind Farm (102 MW)
• Garob Wind Farm (140 MW).

The solar PV projects include:

• Sirius Solar PV Project One (75 MW)
• Droogfontein 2 Solar (86 MW)
• Dyason’s Klip 1 (75 MW)
• Dyason’s Klip 2 (75 MW)
• Konkoonsies II Solar Facility (86 MW)
• Aggeneys solar project (45 MW)
• Loeriesfontein Orange project (75 MW)
• De Wildt solar project (50 MW)
• Bokamoso solar project (78 MW)
• Zeerust development (75 MW)
• Greefspan PV Power Plant Number Two solar park (55 MW)
• Waterloo solar park (86 MW).

Potential Job Creation
The 27 new projects will potentially create 58 000 new jobs, mostly during construction and mostly in the rural areas of the Northern, Eastern and Western Cape provinces, as well as the North West, Free State and Mpumalanga provinces. There is also potential to create a further 1 500 jobs in the manufacturing sector as a direct spin-off from the projects.

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

Planned Start/End Date
Building Energy’s Roggeveld Wind Farm, which is expected to be South Africa’s most efficient wind farm, started construction in April 2018 and is expected to be completed in 2021.

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

Construction of Enel Green Power’s Oyster Bay started construction in May 2019 and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021. The Garob Wind  Farm started construction in July 2019 and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2021. The construction of the Soetwater and Karusa wind farms started in November 2019 and are expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

Mainstream Renewable Energy’s Kangnas Wind Farm started construction in June 2018 and is expected to be complete in late 2020.

Mainstream Renewable Energy’s Perdekraal East Wind Farm started construction in June 2018 and achieved its commercial operations datein October  2020.

BioTherm Energy’s Excelsior and Golden Valley wind farms started construction in 2018 and are expected to reach commercial operation by 2020. 

Construction of the Konkoonsies II and Aggeneys solar PV projects, in the Northern Cape, started in 2018 and commercial operations in September 2020. At the height of construction, the Aggeneys Solar and Konkoonsies II Solar plants provided jobs for 1 000 local workers from the rural surrounding towns of Aggeneys, Witbank, Pofadder, Pella and Onseepkans.

Construction of EDF Renewables’ Wesley-Ciskei Wind Farm is expected to start production in June 2021.

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

Scatec Solar is developing the Sirius Solar, as well as Dyason’s Klip 1 and 2 solar PV projects. Dyason’s Klip 1 entered into operation in February 2020.

juwi started construction on Sturdee Energy’s Droogfontein 2 and Bokamoso solar projects in 2018. In September 2020, juwi announced that the Droogfontein 2 Solar Park, near Kimberley, had reached full grid code compliance and had started commercial operations. Commercial operations started at Bokamoso in October 2020. Waterloo started construction in the first half of 2019.

Construction of GRS’ Greefspan PV Power Plant Number Two solar park will start in September 2019 and is expected to be completed by November 2020.

Latest Developments
Wind projects:
Nordex South Africa is supplying turbines to the Roggeveld and Nxuba wind farms, in the Eastern Cape, as well as the Copperton and Garob wind farms, in the Northern Cape, which are all under construction.

Vestas is supplying 70 of its wind turbines to the Karusa and Soetwater wind farms, in the Northern Cape. The massive pieces of equipment are expected to be operational by the second half of 2020.

Concor and Conco Consortium have been appointed as construction contractors for the Kangnas and Perdekraal wind farms, in the Northern Cape, while Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy will supply and install the wind turbines. The wind turbine sections are being manufactured locally.

The main transformer for the 140 MW Kangnas Wind Farm was energised on September 21, 2020. The 250 MVA transformer was locally manufactured.

Renewable-energy project developer Conco is responsible for the electrical component of the balance of plant works, including the engineering, procurement and construction, as well as the electrical works, for the wind farm.

The Perdekraal East Wind Farm achieved its commercial operations date on October 8, almost two years after construction began at the site.

Perdekraal East Wind Farm was built by Siemens, Concor and Conco Consortium, and about 2.8% of the wind farm’s revenue will be spent on socioeconomic development and 0.2% on enterprise development over a 20-year period.

BioTherm Energy’s Excelsior Wind Farm was connected to South Africa’s load-shedding-prone national grid, with all 13 of its wind turbines having been successfully commissioned in September 2020.

The facility is expected to achieve its commercial operations date in October 2020 and begin generating more than 132 GWh of renewable power each year for the 20-year duration of its power purchase agreement.

Excelsior is connected to the grid through an on-site substation and a dedicated 132 kV power line that is connected to the Vryheid substation, located close to the plant in Swellendam.

Solar projects:
Droogfontein 2 has reached full grid code compliance and has started commercial operations. The 179 ha area, which comprises 260 000 solar panels on a single-axis tracker system, is supplying 75 MW to the national grid.

Bokamoso reached full grid code compliance and started commercial operations on October 14, 2020. More than 450 people from the local beneficiary communities were directly employed on the project during construction. Meanwhile, the Waterloo Solar Park is said to be nearing completion.

The project’s socioeconomic developments will be focused on education, youth development, health, food security and welfare. The programmes have been chosen following research and engagement to ensure that they are well informed and will strengthen the beneficiary communities.

Moreover, a percentage of the revenue generated every year will be committed to implementing enterprise development initiatives to build resilience and accelerate the growth and success of entrepreneurial businesses, ultimately stimulating local economic growth and creating opportunities for the economic participation of previously disadvantaged groups.

The focus is on small and microenterprises designed to enhance growth. To deliver on this objective, the establishment of a local resource centre for use by local small-, medium-sized and microenterprises, as well as communities, will support this drive to support development, while the provision of accredited skills training will be provided for startup businesses.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Enel Green Power (Nxuba, Oyster Bay, Garob, Karusa and Soetwater wind farms); BioTherm Energy (Golden Valley, Excelsior, Konkoonsies II and Aggeneys 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 and Lekela Consortium (Kangnas and Perdekraal wind farms); Concor and Conco (construction contractor – Kangnas and Perdekraal wind farms); Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (supply and installation of wind turbines – Kangnas and Perdekraal 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); 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 Orange solar PV project); Sturdee Energy (Bokamoso, Waterloo, Droogfontein II, Zeerust development, Greefspan and De Wildt solar parks); juwi Renewable Energies (EPC and operation and maintenance contracts – Waterloo, Bokamoso and Droogfontein 2 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.