Mining conglomerate Anglo American and French renewable energy company EDF Renewables, through their jointly owned renewables venture, Envusa Energy, have announced the completion of project financing for its first three wind and solar projects in South Africa.
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.
All projects are expected to reach commercial operation by 2026. The projects have 20-year offtake agreements with Anglo American’s three businesses in South Africa (Anglo American Platinum, Kumba Iron Ore, and De Beers).
Anglo and EDF revealed that the terms and structure of the non-recourse project financing are typical of high-quality renewable energy infrastructure assets.
“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,” stated Themba Mkhwanazi, Anglo American’s Regional Director for Africa and Australia.
“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 will help catalyse extensive socio-economic activity, playing a critical role in unlocking South Africa’s economic development and growth prospects,” Mkhwanazi added.
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.
“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,” said Nolitha Fakude, Chair of Anglo American’s Management Board in South Africa and Chair of Envusa Energy.
Tristan de Drouas, CEO at EDF Renewables in South Africa, commented on the developments saying; “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.”
