South Africa's Renewable Independent Power Producer Pipeline Reaches Strong Operational Phase

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A steady stream of renewable energy projects are moving into operation as part of South Africa's planned 4,000-megawatt (MW) program for independent power producer (IPP) projects.

Two 75-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) projects by SolarReserve (Santa Monica, California) have been completed and are feeding power into the national grid.

The Lesedi project in the Northern Cape Province and the Letsatsi project in the Free State were selected by the South Africa Department of Energy in the first round of bidding under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP). Developers of both projects have signed power-purchase agreements with the national power utility, Eskom.

The projects were developed and financed by a SolarReserve-led consortium, consisting of local banks and black empowerment players.

Two more solar projects, constructed by SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ:SPWR) (San Jose, California), are now feeding 33 MW to the grid. The 22-MW Herbert project and the 11-MW Greefspan project are located near Douglas in the Northern Cape. Combined, the projects feature 138,000 solar PV panels on single-axis trackers, and are programmed to follow the sun throughout the day.

SunPower, with its majority shareholder Total S.A. (NYSE:TOT) (Paris, France) and other partners, have been selected for an 86-MW project in Prieska in the Northern Cape, and SunPower is expected to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) service and long-term operation and maintenance (O&M) for the project.

For related information see May 16, 2014, article - Power Development Initiative Rolls Out in Africa.

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