Awarded preferred bidder status in the first round of South Africa’s Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP), the three Oasis 1 battery energy storage systems (BESS) projects reached financial close in November 2024. The projects are expected to be commissioned within 24 months and will contribute to the security of supply and stabilising the electricity grid in the country.
From left: Mr Laurent Clement, VP EDF Africa, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Minister of Electricity and Energy, Mr Andrew Etzinger, GM: Energy Market Services & International Trader, NTCSA, Mr Tshifhiwa Bernard Magoro, Head of the IPP Office.
In Round 1 of the BESIPPP, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) awarded preferred bidder status to five projects in November 2023. The Oasis consortium, which was awarded three of the five projects, is led by EDF Group and includes co-sponsor Mulilo, and equity partners Pele Energy Group and Gibb-Crede. Each project includes a 5% ownership interest for local communities through a Community Trust.
The Oasis 1 portfolio includes:
- Oasis Mookodi (77 MW capacity with 308 MWh storage)
- Oasis Aggeneis (77 MW capacity with 308 MWh storage)
- and Oasis Nieuwehoop (103 MW capacity with 412 MWh storage).
Together the three projects are set to provide 257 MW of capacity and 1 028 MWh of storage. All the projects are located in the Northern Cape Supply Area.
Oasis Mookodi was the first project within the Oasis portfolio to achieve financial close on 15 November 2024, followed by Oasis Aggeneis and Oasis Nieuwehoop, on 20 November 2024. The consortium has raised R7 billion in debt funding from the Standard Bank of South Africa and ABSA, to finance the projects. The Oasis projects will operate under a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement with South Africa’s national utility Eskom.
Oasis Mookodi will be located at Mookodi, Oasis Aggeneis will be located at Aggeneis Substation, close to the town of Aggenys, and Oasis Nieuwehoop will be located at Nieuwehoop Substation, close to Kenhardt.
Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa signed the agreements and the Department of Electricity and Energy said in a statement that with construction of the BESS projects expected to be completed within 24 months, the storage capacity will come online by November 2026.
As well as attracting investment and meeting Black Economic Empowerment requirements, the projects will contribute to local socio-economic development, providing job opportunities during construction and ongoing operations and through the 20% of total project costs committed to local content procurement Additional commitments of over R43 million over the 15-year lifespan of the agreements will go to areas such as skills development, supplier development, bursaries for black students, enterprise development, and other socio-economic development initiatives, the department said.
The BESIPPPP is key to supporting South Africa’s electricity infrastructure as the system needs more flexibility to accommodate the feed in of new renewable energy and improve grid stability.
The EDF Group has already been active in developing clean energy generation assets in the country. It operates four wind farms (145 MW), and is currently developing several wind, solar, and hybrid projects to deliver a total installed capacity of 1 GW. This illustrates EDF’s capacity to help meet the country’s electricity system needs with low-carbon generation solutions and to help its clients in the C&I sector to decarbonise their activities.
Beatrice Buffon, Group Senior Executive Vice-President, EDF International Division, and CEO of EDF Renewables said: “We are pleased to have achieved commercial and financial close on these projects. EDF is committed to developing low-carbon solutions that support flexibility and help to meet the needs of the electricity system in South Africa. Our projects will store and dispatch power to relieve the constraints on the grid, provide energy arbitrage, and help stabilise the grid for short periods by providing or absorbing power. From this new milestone we can move forward to progress the energy transition in the country.”
A further two Battery Energy Storage bid windows are currently under way. Bid Window 2 is in evaluation phase with an announcement on preferred bidders expected within the next few weeks. Bid submissions for Bid Window 3, due in by the end of November, will then be adjudicated.
For more information visit: https://edf-re.co.za/
