Sibanye Stillwater locks in 140 MW of wind under PPA in S Africa

South Africa-based miner and metals processing group Sibanye Stillwater Ltd (JSE:SSW) on Thursday announced the signing of a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to secure the output from a planned 140-MW wind farm in the country.

The consortium behind the project, known as the Umsinde Emoyeni Wind Farm, also reached financial close, Sibanye Stillwater said.

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The wind project is promoted by a consortium led by African Clean Energy Developments (ACED) and Energy Infrastructure Management Services (EIMS Africa). Both of these entities are renewable energy development platforms of African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM).

Reatile Renewables is also a shareholder in the consortium. Old Mutual Alternative Investments (OMAI) invested in the project through its IDEAS Fund, a South African infrastructure equity fund. AIIM is a division of OMAI.

Other key players include Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), acting as the sole mandated lead arranger for the project with Sibanye Stillwater, and South African utility Eskom, which will wheel the electricity from the wind farm to Sibanye-Stillwater’s operations through the national grid under a separate agreement.

The Umsinde Emoyeni wind farm will be situated on the border between the Northern Cape Province and the Western Cape Province near Murraysburg, Construction is expected to start shortly, while commercial operation is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026, the mining group said.

The latest PPA is Sibanye Stillwater’s fourth such agreement and enables the company to raise its total capacity of renewables for exclusive use to 407 MW. With this PPA, Sibanye Stillwater secured 70% of its long-term energy requirements in South Africa.

The company has set the target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.