29 February 2024
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Envusa Energy completes project finance for 520MW of wind and
solar projects in South Africa
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Anglo American announces that its
jointly owned renewable energy venture with EDF Renewables, Envusa
Energy, has completed the project financing for its first three
wind and solar projects in South Africa. The terms and structure of
this non-recourse project financing are typical of high-quality
renewable energy infrastructure assets. These three renewable
energy projects, known as the Koruson 2 cluster of projects and
located on the border of the Northern and Eastern Cape provinces of
South Africa, will have a total capacity of 520MW of wind and solar
electricity generation.
Themba Mkhwanazi, Anglo American's Regional Director for
Africa and Australia, said: "The
successful project financing of these initial projects marks our
first major step towards addressing Anglo American's largest
remaining source of Scope 2 emissions - our electricity supply in
Southern Africa. As we make progress towards our 2040 carbon
neutral operations commitment, we also see the opportunity to
enhance energy reliability and grid resilience in South Africa. We
expect that energy availability to help catalyse extensive
socio-economic activity, playing a critical role in unlocking South
Africa's economic development and growth prospects."
The projects - the Umsobomvu Wind
project (140MW), the Hartebeesthoek Wind project (140MW), and the
Mooi Plaats Solar project (240MW) - form part of Envusa Energy's
mature pipeline of wind and solar projects in South Africa. The
renewable energy ecosystem that Envusa Energy plans to develop is
expected to supply a mix of renewable energy, generated both on
Anglo American's sites in the Southern African region, and from
other sites from which renewable energy will be transmitted via the
national grid.
The Koruson 2 wind and solar
projects benefit from outstanding yield resources, coupled with a
robust Eskom grid connection. This configuration promises
considerable electricity cost savings compared to existing tariffs.
Anglo American's three businesses in South Africa (Anglo American
Platinum, Kumba Iron Ore, and De Beers), have committed to 20-year
offtake agreements with Envusa Energy. These agreements will see
Anglo American Platinum receiving 461MW of supply, Kolomela mine
11MW, and Venetia mine 48MW. All projects are to reach commercial
operation during 2026. This inaugural phase of contracts is
expected to abate approximately 2.2 million tonnes per year of
carbon dioxide.
Nolitha Fakude, Chair of Anglo American's Management Board in
South Africa and Chair of Envusa Energy, said: "We are delighted with the progress we are making in
setting up Envusa Energy for long-term success as a major
renewables powerhouse in South Africa. Achieving financial closure
for these three high-quality renewable energy projects marks a
crucial milestone in support of Anglo American's global
decarbonisation journey and bolsters South Africa's pursuit of a
resilient and clean energy future.
"We believe that the energy
transition offers a unique opportunity to generate substantial new
economic opportunities as part of South Africa's journey towards an
inclusive, sustainable, and low-carbon economy."
Tristan de Drouas, CEO at EDF Renewables in South
Africa, said: "Collaborating with
Anglo American to apply our extensive global expertise in renewable
energy infrastructure development, design, and delivery, has been
immensely rewarding. With Envusa Energy being developed as a
jointly owned venture with Anglo American, we have solidified our
long-term commitment to South Africa's transition to clean
energy.
"The financial close of this initial
cluster of projects is the first step towards Envusa Energy's
ambition to roll out 3 to 5 GW of wind, solar and storage projects
by 2030.
"These collective initiatives align
seamlessly with EDF Group's CAP 2030 strategy. This strategy is
ambitiously focused on doubling our net renewable installed energy
capacity globally (including hydropower) from 28 GW in 2015 to 60
GW by 2030."
In line with both companies'
commitment to supporting a just energy transition, Envusa Energy is
exploring a range of black economic empowerment (BEE) and community
partnership models that will enable businesses and host communities
to share in the benefits created by the development of the
renewable energy ecosystem, along its value chain. The first of
these empowerment initiatives includes the incorporation of a 20%
equity investment by Pele Green Energy (Pty) Ltd (an established
South African independent power producer) into each of the three
project companies delivering the development of the Koruson 2
assets, alongside the establishment of a community trust to manage
the financial interests of local communities in the Koruson 2
assets.
Envusa Energy is also in the process
of implementing the incorporation of a BEE partner at the business
level to further demonstrate our commitment to supporting black
economic empowerment. The development of the renewable energy
ecosystem presents an opportunity to help build a more
collaborative and inclusive economy that places people and the
principle of shared prosperity at the heart of
development.
For further information, please
contact:
Notes to editors:
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EDF
Renewables is an international
energy company which develops, builds and operates renewable power
generation plants. As a major player in the energy transition
worldwide, EDF Renewables deploys, within EDF, competitive,
responsible and value-creating projects. In every country, our
teams show their commitment to local stakeholders every day, adding
their expertise and capacity for innovation to the fight against
climate change.
At the end of 2022, EDF Renewables
operates a net installed wind and solar capacity of 11.4 GW (18.5
GW gross) worldwide. Mainly present in Europe and North America,
EDF Renewables is pursuing its development by taking a position in
promising emerging markets such as: Brazil, China, India, South
Africa and in the Middle East. Historically active in onshore wind
and photovoltaics, the Company is now strongly positioned on
offshore wind and floating wind as well as in new technologies such
as energy storage, floating solar and agrivoltaism.
For more information:
https://edf-renouvelables.com/en/
In South Africa, EDF Renewables is a
leading independent power producer, with an installed capacity of
142MW and 1200MW under construction.
For more information:
www.edf-re.co.za