JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Solar technology developer SOLA Group has signed a heads of terms agreement with a consortium which intends to install three solar photovoltaic (PV) plants with gold miner Harmony Gold in the Free State, SOLA Group head of Energy Storage and Microgrid Services Daniel Goldstuck told delegates at the Dwyka Technology Showcase today, in Sandton.
The three solar PV plants, totalling 26 MW when combined, would power three of Harmony Gold’s mines in the region.
Harmony Gold CEO Peter Steenkamp said during a presentation in August that the company had been looking into energy supply alternatives for some of its long-life mines in the Free State and had applied to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for licensing.
In May, Nersa electricity licensing, compliance and dispute resolution head Dennis Seemela said it was ready to consider licence applications for small-scale embedded generator plants between 1 MW and 10 MW.
He said that this would be in line with the “blanket deviation” from the Integrated Resources Plan provided by former Energy Minister Jeff Radebe in a letter delivered to Nersa earlier that month.
Goldstuck added that, SOLA Group was actively investigating energy storage solutions for a number of mines in Southern and Western Africa.