EDF Renewables in South Africa achieved financial and commercial close on 18 January 2023, on Coleskop Wind Power (Pty) Ltd – the third of its Koruson 1 projects, which were awarded preferred bidder status in Bid Window 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
The San Kraal project site; together with Phezukomoya and Coleskop, San Kraal is one of the three Koruson 1 wind farm projects.
The Coleskop Wind Farm is located in the vicinity of Middelburg, in the Umsombomvu Local Municipality, on the boundary of the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape. It is expected to reach commercial operation by the beginning of 2025.
Tristan de Drouas, CEO of EDF Renewables in South Africa said, “I am proud to announce that, as anticipated, our Coleskop wind project has reached commercial and financial close today. Following the financial close of Phezukomoya and San Kraal on 10 November 2022, this means the construction phase of all three wind farms, totalling 420 MW, is now fully under way. This is greatly satisfying for the project team and the consortium, after the lengthy bid process, and in the context of the urgency to deliver more power to the national grid.”
Each project will comprise 26 wind turbines, with a hub height of 124 m and a blade length of 83 m. EDF Renewables is also constructing the Koruson Main Transmission Substation (MTS) on behalf of Eskom, under a self-build agreement. it will be transferred to Eskom on completion. The projects will sell power to Eskom under a 20-year PPA.
The low-carbon renewable electricity produced each year by the three wind farms will help to meet the electricity needs of about 193 000 South African households.
Through the three Koruson 1 projects, EDF Renewables has committed to providing 2 230 job years, which includes more than 590 full-time jobs for South African citizens during the construction period of two years, and 50 full-time jobs during the operating period of twenty years. Local content will constitute about 40% of the project value and, during operations, 1.2% of revenue generated by the projects will be committed to socio-economic development initiatives for nearby local communities.
The projects, developed by a highly skilled consortium led by EDF Renewables in South Africa, together with its local BEE partners, H1 Holdings, GIBB-Crede and a local community trust, were awarded preferred bidder status in October 2021, under Round 5 of the REIPPP Programme.
EDF Renewables in South Africa, the lead sponsor in the transactions, is a locally based, fully integrated independent power producer that develops, finances, builds, owns and operates commercial renewable energy generation facilities, including wind, solar PV, battery storage and hybrid solutions. It is a subsidiary of EDF Renouvelables, the renewable energy arm of the global utility EDF.
For more information visit: www.edf-re.co.za