Mining group Sibanye-Stillwater has concluded its first power purchase agreement (PPA) and achieved financial close for an 89MW wind farm in South Africa.
The Castle Wind Farm, located near the town of De Aar in the Northern Cape province, will supply Sibanye-Stillwater’s South African mining operations via a wheeling agreement with Eskom.
Construction of the site is expected to commence in June 2023 and is scheduled for commercial operation in early 2025.
The project consortium consists of African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), through its renewable energy project development and delivery platform, African Clean Energy Developments (ACED) and Reatile Renewables.
AIIM is a division of Old Mutual Alternative Investments (OMAI) and has invested in the project through its IDEAS Fund, one of South Africa’s largest domestic infrastructure equity funds.
Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), a division of FirstRand Bank Limited, is the sole mandated lead arranger for the project.
Under the terms of the 15-year PPA, the Castle Wind Farm will be funded, built, and operated by the consortium.
Chief executive of Sibanye-Stillwater Neal Froneman said: “This marks our first major step in delivering over 550MW of our renewable project portfolio and is a significant milestone in our journey to carbon neutrality by 2040.
“The project will not only play a pivotal role in reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change but also results in cost savings on electricity and provides energy security benefits for Sibanye-Stillwater’s SA operations.
“Additionally, it will also contribute to addressing the electricity challenges in South Africa. We look forward to bringing the project into operation.”