BioTherm Energy has reached financial close on a 284 MW portfolio of wind and solar projects in South Africa, it has announced.
The projects were awarded as part of South Africa’s fourth round Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers (REIPP) programme. Construction is due to begin “shortly”, BioTherm said in a statement, and will enter operation by 2020.
BioTherm will invest $500 million in the projects, which include two wind farms and two solar PV plants. It has awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the wind farms to Goldwind, and for the solar farms to ET Solutions.
All four projects have 20-year inflation linked power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Eskom, the South African national utility, and are backed by sovereign guarantees provided by the National Treasury.
“The BioTherm team is glad to have finally closed these projects and looks forward to reaching commercial operations as planned,” said Jasandra Nyker, CEO of BioTherm Energy.
BioTherm has a pipeline of over 2 GW of wind and solar projects in Africa. It has secured PPAs and nearing construction on over 440 MW across South Africa, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, not including the REIPP projects.
The four REIPP projects are the 120 MW Golden Valley and 32 MW Excelsior wind farms, and the 86 MW Konkoonsies II and the 45 MW Aggeneys solar farms.
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