Page 20 - AfrElec Week 46 2022

AfrElec RENEWABLES AfrElec

EDF’s first two BW5

wind projects in SA

reach financial close

SOUTH AFRICA THE first two wind energy projects under Bid will be transferred to Eskom upon completion,
Window Five (BW5) of South Africa’s Renew- says the news magazine. The substation will ena-
able Energy Independent Power Producer Pro- ble the connection of further projects to the grid.
curement Programme (REIPPPP) have reached “This project confirms our long-term goals in
financial close, Engineering News reports. the country, adding to the almost 1GW that EDF
Phezukomoya Wind Power and San Kraal Renewables already develops, builds, or operates
Wind Power facilities, both located in the in South Africa, supporting ours and the govern-
Northern Cape, are the first BW5 projects to ment’s ambitions to develop low-carbon energy
reach the milestone. The onshore plants of solutions for the future,” said Tristan de Drouas,
140MW each will be built by French multina- CEO of EDF Renewables (South Africa).
tional EDF Renewables and its partners, H1 and The DMRE said last week that three Red
Gibb-Crede. Rocket South Africa wind projects, with a
Standard Bank has acted as the mandated combined capacity of 364MW and a combined
lead arranger, providing term debt, a debt ser- investment value of ZAR9bn, had also signed
vice reserve fund and value-added tax facilities, project agreements under BW5 and that addi-
writes Engineering News. The two wind farms tional projects would be signed in the coming
are expected to be commissioned between mid- weeks.
2024 and the beginning of 2025. The timelines to finalise project agreements
South Africa’s power utility Eskom and the for BW5 preferred bidders, of which there are 25
Department of Mineral Resources and Energy wind and solar PV projects, have initially been
(DMRE) in September also signed power pur- pushed from April 2022 to October 2022. The
chase and implementation agreement on the delays were linked to issues with Eskom issu-
Coleskop Wind Project. The 140MW project in ing budget quotations that projects require for
the Eastern Cape is expected to reach financial lender approvals.
close in January. However, the DMRE confirmed with Engi-
The combined investment value of the three neering News last week that the deadline had
projects from BW5 is ZAR11bn ($640mn). again been extended after representations from
According to Engineering News, each project the remaining BW5 preferred bidders as well as
will comprise 26 wind turbines, with a height of the eight preferred bidders selected under the
124 metres and a blade length of 83 metres. Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer
EDF Renewables will also be constructing the Procurement Programme.™
Koruson main transmission substation on behalf
of Eskom, under a self-build agreement, which

P20 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 46 16•November•2022