South African renewable energy independent power producer, Biotherm Energy, last week connected its Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility to the national grid. The 120MW wind farm is located in the Eastern Cape province.
We are pleased to announce the successful commissioning of all 48 wind turbine generators as the year draws to an end and we prepare to have our portfolio in operations in the next quarter
Robert Skjodt, BioTherm Energy CEO
The electricity generated from the wind farm will be purchased by South Africa’s state-owned utility, Eskom, under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The clean energy project has been developed under the fourth round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) programme.
The wind energy facility was constructed by a team comprising 98% South Africans. The South African government’s localisation policy requires that project developers consider procuring technology and labour locally to encourage the development of local economies in areas where projects are built.
BioTherm Energy has developed a pipeline of 384MW wind and solar projects in South Africa and Kenya. The independent power producer is expecting to generate over 477GWh of renewable power each year, equivalent to the energy needs of approximately 120 000 households.
BioTherm Energy expressed that the 120MW Golden Valley Wind project in the Eastern Cape achieved a key milestone on Tuesday 15 December 2020. The project was commissioned ahead of its expected commercial operations scheduled for the first quarter of next year.
BioTherm Energy, which is wholly owned by Actis, has a portfolio of five projects in Africa. These include Aggeneys Solar, Konkoonsies II Solar, Excelsior Wind farm and Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility under the REIPPPP and the Kipeto Wind project, which is under construction in Kenya
The REIPPP was launched by the South African government to encourage PPIs to invest in renewable energy in the Rainbow Nation. As part of this programme, several clean energy generation facilities are under construction in South Africa.
