Good news for EDF Renewables in South Africa. The subsidiary of the Electricité de France (EDF) group has announced the financial closure of two of its wind farms under development in the rainbow nation. The Phezukomoya and San Kraal wind farms are being developed under the fifth round of tenders of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
The projects are entering the construction phase and are expected to be operational in 2024 in the local municipality of Umsombomvu, on the border of the Eastern and Northern Cape provinces. Each wind farm will have 23 wind turbines with a height of 124 m and a blade length of 83 m, with a capacity of 140 MW. In addition to the installation of the wind turbines, EDF’s project also includes the construction of the main transmission substation (MTS) in Koruso.
Financial closing of Coleskop expected in the coming weeks
This station, which will be transferred to the South African public company Eskom at the end of its construction, will allow the electricity produced to be injected into the South African national electricity network. EDF already has a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Eskom. “The conclusion of these agreements is the result of a tremendous collaborative effort that began 10 years ago, for which the project team should again be congratulated. Our next goal is now to build these wind farms, safely and on time,” says Tristan de Drouas, managing director of EDF Renewables in South Africa.
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The independent power producer (IPP) has been awarded the construction of three wind farms in the 5th REIPPP tender. EDF expects to complete the financing of its 140 MW Coleskop wind farm by the end of January 2023. Once operational, the three wind farms will be capable of producing 420 MW, enough electricity to meet the needs of 193,000 South African households, EDF estimates.
The French company is developing the Coleskop, Phezukomoya and San Kraal wind projects in a partnership with South African investment company H1 Holdings, GIBB-Crede, a Johannesburg-based engineering and consultancy firm, and a local community trust.
Jean Marie Takouleu