Dineo Faku
GLOBAL solar energy provider Scatec Solar will contribute an additional 115 megawatts of solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity to the South African grid through the development of two solar energy collection projects worth $388 million (R3.6 billion) after signing a transaction with the Department of Energy.
The Norwegian firm said yesterday that it also expected to complete its 75MW Kalkbult project in the Northern Cape in October, two months ahead of schedule. The company was awarded that project in the first round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer (REIPP) programme.
Funding totalling R12bn has been set aside for projects producing solar power.
Standard Bank has signed a R20bn funding support agreement for renewable energy projects with its significant shareholder the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
Scatec Solar will build the new facilities in Linde in the Northern Cape and Dreunberg in the Eastern Cape after winning approval in the second round of the REIPP. Both were situated in “sun-drenched regions” that offered some of the best conditions for solar power in the world, the company said.
The plants will produce a combined 225 million kilowatt-hours a year, enough to cover the electricity demand of 53 000 households.
The power would be sold to Eskom under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
The plants would also offset some 190 000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year, the company added.
“We are looking forward to realising two more PV projects as part of South Africa’s renewable energy programme,” Scatec Solar chief executive Raymond Carlsen said.
He said the experience gained from the Kalkbult project meant the company’s seasoned team and partners were better prepared to take on the challenges of the new projects.
“We have for more than three years been actively developing project opportunities in South Africa, and being able to realise our plans is of great satisfaction to us and will benefit both the regions and the local communities in which we operate,” Carlsen said.
The capital investment for the projects was in the range of $390m and would be financed through Standard Bank.
The construction of the plants would provide significant job opportunities and the use of local services to improve the newly established renewable energy industry.
At its Kalkbult project Scatec Solar and sub-contractors have recruited and trained more than 500 employees at different levels ranging from technicians to finance and project management specialists.
In peak periods, Scatec said, more than 400 employees, the majority from the surrounding community, worked at the construction site.
The projects were among nine PV bids selected with a combined capacity of 417MW against the Department of Energy’s 450MW allocation for PV.