EDF Renewables, partners adding nearly 1.2 GW of green power in S Africa

French renewables company EDF Renewables and its partners in South Africa are currently building close to 1.2 GW of wind, solar and battery energy storage projects across eights sites in the Northern and Eastern Cape Provinces.

These projects, representing a total investment of ZAR 34 billion (USD 1.84bn/EUR 1.71bn), will one by one reach commercial operation between the end of 2024 and 2026, EDF Renewables said.

The French company is partners with H1 Holdings, GIBB-Crede and a local community trust on the 420-MW Koruson 1 project, consisting of three wind farms currently under construction.

The work is also being done on the 520-MW Koruson 2 wind and solar cluster led by Envusa Energy, EDF Renewables’ joint venture with mining company Anglo American Plc (LON:AAL). This project will incorporate a 20% equity investment by Pele Green Energy (Pty) Ltd alongside a local community trust.

The 1.2-GW build-out is rounded out by the Umoyilanga hybrid power project, which is being carried out by EDF Renewables’ partnership with Perpetua Holdings (Pty) Ltd. Umoyilanga will be a virtual power plant delivering 75 MW of dispatchable power. It will combine 115 MW of solar PV, 63 MW of wind power and 75 MW of battery storage all packed at two sites, Dassiesridge and Avondale, which are 900 kilometres apart, EDF Renewables said.

Once fully operating, these power plants will generate close to 4 TWh per year, helping to narrow South Africa’s energy deficit. The total energy shortage in the country reached 14.4 TWh in 2023, EDF Renewables said, citing data by national utility Eskom.

(ZAR 10 = USD 0.542/EUR 0.503)

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