[ad_1]
Aggeneys Solar Project, North Cape. Supplied image / Warren Williams.
- Thanks to independent power projects, 275 megawatts of additional electricity are expected to feed into Eskom’s grid this month.
- Wind and solar projects are part of the Renewable Energy Independent Energy Producer Procurement Program (REIPPP) Offer window 4.
- Watch them come to life from space.
- For more stories visit Business Insider South Africa.
Several renewable energy projects are scheduled to enter commercial operation in October. Together they will bring a combined 275 megawatts (MW) to Eskom’s tight grid. This year has been the worst year for load shedding on record.
The wind and solar projects are part of Bid Window 4 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Contracting Program (REIPPP), of which 27 of these projects were delayed pending final approval from Eskom two years ago .
In total, they can add a total of 2,300MW to Eskom’s distressed grid, provided the wind is blowing and the sun is shining at the time.
The plants are only beginning to come online now due to delays caused by the Covid-19 shutdowns. Twelve wind farms were blocked during their construction phase and only allowed to resume activity at the end of May, costing the teams more than 50 days of work.
Under normal circumstances, it takes approximately 18 months to build solar and wind farms, once all the documentation has been signed.
These are some of the big projects that will be online this month, with their construction seen from space.
The 143MW worth of wind power is expected to come online in October.
Wind projects are predominantly located along the coastal regions, and the Western Cape has three wind farms currently under construction.
33MW Excelsior Wind Farm on the outskirts of Swellendam
Excelsior wind farm on the outskirts of Swellendam, Western Cape. Supplied image / Warren Williams
The Excelsior wind power facility is located 30 km southwest of Swellendam and comprises thirteen 2.5 MW turbines.
Perdekraal East 110MW wind farm in Ceres.
Perdekraal East Wind Farm in Ceres. Image supplied.
Nearly two years after construction of the Perdekraal East wind farm began, the project completed its code grid testing, the latest milestone before reaching its commercial operations date (COD).
“We are pleased to be entering the final phase of the construction of this wind farm and can already visualize the COD, which we hope to achieve in the next two to four weeks,” Glenn Hobson, Wind Farm Construction Project Manager, told Business Insider. Perdekraal. SA.
Located 80km northeast of Ceres, the wind farm will produce 110MW and spans an area of 3,055 hectares. The site was chosen for its excellent wind resource and its proximity to national highways for transporting wind turbines.
Here is an updated list of estimated timelines for other projects *:
Wind energy entering the grid. SAWEA source.
* As of October 1, 2020.
Another 276MW is expected to come online in December, according to the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), which represents IPP’s wind farms.
132MW in solar energy is also online
Two large new solar power plants in the North Cape, the Aggeneys Solar Project (46MW) and the Konkoonsies II (86MW), are connected to the grid and should be operational in October.
These sister solar plants, located 35 km from each other, are owned by South African power producer BioTherm Energy and are expected to produce enough each year to power 110,000 households altogether.
BioTherm Energy has been operating in South Africa since 2003. The company is owned by Actis, the world’s leading investor in emerging markets, following an acquisition in 2019.
Aggeneys Solar Project
Aggeneys Solar Project, North Cape. Supplied image / Warren Williams.
Konkoonsies II
According to the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), these are the solar projects that are yet to come:
- Future – 68MW Matlosana, Northwest
- De Wildt – British 50 MW, North West
- Droogfontein 2 – 75MW Riverton, North Cape
- Dyasons Klip 1- 75MW Upington, North Cape
- Dyasons Klip 2- 75MW Upington, North Cape
- Greefspan – Douglas 55 MW, Northwest
- Solar Capital Orange- 75MW Loeriesfontein, North Cape
- Waterloo- 75MW Vryberg, North Cape
- Zeerust – 75MW Zeerust, Northwest
Sirius Solar PV One (86MW) in Upington, Northern Cape, has been producing electricity since February 2020.
New energy projects will be launched soon that will bring 6,800MW to the grid
Last week, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe published the government’s plans to begin the bidding process for bid window 5.
The bulletin determines that Eskom must buy 6,800 new megawatts (MW) of wind and solar photovoltaic energy, while 513MW must be acquired to be generated from storage, 3,000MW of gas and 1,500MW of coal, providing 11,800MW of new electricity capacity .
South Africa has a daily capacity of 30,000 MW, when all its old coal plants are operating optimally.
According to SAWEA, the new bidding window will unlock an estimated annual investment of R40 billion in the wind power industry alone.
Receive a daily update on your cell phone with all our latest news – click here.
Get the best of our site by email on a daily basis – click here.
Also from Business Insider South Africa:
[ad_2]
