Enel Green Power: works begin on three new plants in South Africa

With an installed capacity of 82.5 MW, the Aurora photovoltaic plant, located in the Northern Cape Province, will be capable of generating more than 168 GWh per year once up and running. This output corresponds to the annual energy needs of around 53 thousand South African households and allows to avoid the emission of over 153 thousand tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.

The Paleisheuwel photovoltaic plant will have an installed capacity of 82.5 MW and will be built in the Western Cape Province. Once fully operational, it will be able to generate more than 153 GWh per year, equivalent to the energy needs of around 48 thousand South African households, thereby avoiding the emission of more than 140 thousand tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.

With an installed capacity of 66 MW, the Tom Burke photovoltaic plant, located in the Limpopo Province, will be capable of generating up to 122 GWh per year once up and running. This output is equivalent to the energy needs of around 38 thousand South African households and allows to avoid the emission of over 111 thousand tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.

The energy generated by these new power plants will be sold to South African utility Eskom as a result of the power supply agreements EGP has been entitled to enter into with the utility. EGP was awarded this right in the third phase of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) tender held by the South African government in October 2013. In the same tender, in addition to the three above mentioned projects, Enel Green Power was also awarded the right to build the 82.5 MW Pulida photovoltaic park, the 111 MW Gibson Bay wind farm and the 88 MW Cookhouse/ Nojoli wind farm. Construction of all these projects is in line with the growth targets set out in Enel Green Power’s 2014-2018 business plan.

In South Africa, Enel Green Power owns and operates the Upington solar power plant, with an installed capacity of 10 MW.

Enel Green Power is the Enel Group company fully dedicated to the development and management of renewable energy sources at the international level, with operations in Europe, the Americas and Africa. With an annual generation capacity equal to, approximately, 32 billion kWh from water, sun, wind and the Earth’s heat - enough to meet the energy needs of more than 10 million households, Enel Green Power is a world leader in the sector thanks to its well-balanced generation mix, providing generation volumes well over the sector average. As of today, the company has an installed capacity of approximately 9,600 MW from a mix of sources including wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal and biomass. The company has about 740 plants operating in 15 countries.

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