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EDF Renewables South Africa starts

SOUTH AFRICA EDF Renewables South Africa, a Cape Town- renewables costs that arose as a result of several
based independent power producer (IPP), Covid lockdowns in China and Russia’s invasion
has reached financial and commercial close of Ukraine.
on the 140MW Coleskop wind project in the In September 2022, EDF Renewables and its
Northern Cape province, Engineering News local partners, H1 and Gibb-Crede, were the first
reports. to sign BW5 agreements with Eskom and the
The wholly-owned subsidiary of France’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy
EDF Group said the construction of its third for the Koruson 1 projects, says the media out-
wind project selected under the much-delayed let. 19 other projects were then chosen and given
Bid Window 5 (BW5) of the government’s until the end of March 2023 to reach financial
Renewable Energy Independent Power Pro- close.
ducer Procurement (REIPPP) programme is According to EDF Renewables South Africa
now underway. CEO Tristan de Drouas, the Coleskop project is
The Coleskop project is a part of the 420MW expected to start commercial operation by the
Koruson 1 portfolio that includes the Phezuko- beginning of 2025 and will sell power to Eskom
moya and San Kraal projects, which achieved under a 20-year PPA. It will comprise 26 wind
financial close on November 10 in 2022. The turbines, the same as the other two Koruson 1
three projects, each with a 140MW capacity, are projects.
located on the boundary of the Eastern Cape and EDF Renewables is also constructing the
the Northern Cape provinces. Koruson main transmission substation on behalf
The projects were chosen as preferred bidders of Eskom which will be transferred to the utility
together with 22 others in October 2021 under upon completion. The company says the Koru-
the REIPPP programme, which had been dis- son 1 projects will create 590 jobs during the two-
rupted for seven years after the national power year construction period and 50 full-time jobs
utility Eskom refused to sign power purchase during the operation.
agreements (PPAs) for projects legally procured “Approximately 40% of the project value will
in 2014. comprise local content, and during operations,
BW5 subsequently experienced serious 1.2% of revenue generated by the projects will be
delays of its own, writes Engineering News, applied to socio-economic development initia-
having been concluded ahead of the surge in tives for nearby local communities.” ™

Week 04 26•January•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P7