Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe has signed new project agreements with an additional two preferred bidders appointed under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP).

The two Projects, totalling 203MW, are both hybrid renewable Projects, which consist of a combination of Solar PV, Onshore Wind and Battery Storage technologies.

The new Projects that have signed Project Agreements are as follows:

Project Name: Oya Energy Hybrid Facility

• Main Developer and Equity Shareholders: GDF International SA, G7 Power, Meadows Oya Energy and Perpetua RMI4P Oya
• Contracted Capacity (MW): 128 MW
• Location: Matjiesfontein, Western Cape

Project Name: Umoyilanga Energy

• Main Developer and Equity Shareholders: EDF Renewables and Perpetua Holdings
• Contracted Capacity (MW): 75MW
• Location: Avondale, Northern Cape and Dassiesridge, Eastern Cape

The projects will have up to December 2023 to finalise conditions precedent to conclude financial close and start with project construction.

The new generation capacity is expected to be online from 2025 onwards.

This brings the total number of Projects that have signed agreements under the RMIPPPP to five out of the eleven Preferred Bidders appointed, adding a total of 353MW of dispatchable capacity to the national grid.

The first three RMIPPPP Projects that signed agreements in June 2022 are currently in construction and are set to reach commercial operation in November 2023.

The total investment attracted from the projects that have signed agreements today is R14.6 billion, which is a substantial input to the economy, the department said.

The projects will contribute a total of 3,966 job opportunities in the construction and operation of these power plants and will also contribute over R610 million over their 20-year lifetime on Skills Development, Supplier Development, Enterprise Development, and Socio-Economic Development initiatives in the communities within which they operate.

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