Building Energy has signed power purchase agreements with the South African state-owned utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd to build, own and operate a 147MW wind plant in Roggeveld and a 4.7MW mini hydroelectric plant in Free State
The company had been awarded preferred bidder status under Round 4 of the South African Department of Energy Renewable Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) Programme for the wind and hydro projects in April 2015.
These agreements signed on 4 April 2018 and are seen to be the official start for the construction of the wind farm in Roggeveld, in the Laingsburg area, straddling the border between the Northern and Western Cape Provinces and the small-hydroelectric plant in Kruisvallei, in the Free State Province.
The overall investment in the construction of the two plants amounts to US$400.78mn.
The Roggeveld wind farm is expected to generate around 613 GWh per year. The energy generated is set to meet the energy needs of about 49.200 households every year while avoiding the emission of about 502.900 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Construction work is scheduled to begin in 2018 and the commercial operation date is foreseen to be in April 2021. More than 5.300 new jobs are considered to be created during the construction phase of the plant, with another 7.920 long-term jobs created during the operation phase.
Kruisvallei small-hydroelectric plant is expected to generate around 28 GWh of energy annually, catering to the energy needs of more than 2.330 households. In addition to covering the community’s energy needs, the plant will save atmospheric emissions of more than 23.800 tonnes of CO2 per year, creating more than 714 jobs during the construction phase, with another 720 long-term jobs created during the operation.
Building Energy coordinates more than 40 projects that are operational or under development in Africa and the Middle East across the technologies of solar PV, wind and small-scale hydroelectric energy, including inter alia projects in South Africa, Uganda, Mali, Malawi, Cameroon, Tunisia, Botswana, Zambia and Cote D’Ivoire.
