Financing deal of Phezukomoya and San Kraal wind projects in South Africa has been sealed. EDF Renewables, the subsidiary of the Electricité de France (EDF) group made the announcement and said the projects are entering the construction phase.
The two windfarms set to have a capacity of 280 MW will be located in the local municipality of Umsombomvu, on the border of the Eastern and Northern Cape provinces. They will be built under the fifth round of tenders of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
READ:Construction of US $11bn wind farm to begin in 2024
PPA deal
The wind farms will be designed to each have 23 wind turbines with a height of 124 m and a blade length of 83 m. A main transmission substation (MTS) will be built in Koruso and upon completion, it will be transferred to the South African public company Eskom to allow the electricity produced be injected into the South African national electricity network. EDF already has a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Eskom. The wind farms are expected to be operational in 2024.
“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,” said Tristan de Drouas, managing director of EDF Renewables in South Africa.
Meanwhile, EDF will complete financing of Coleskop wind farm by the end of January 2023. Coleskop will join the two others to produce a total capacity of 420MW. 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.
