Enel starts production at its largest solar power plant in South Africa

Enel, through its subsidiary Enel Green Power RSA (“EGP RSA”), has completed and connected to the grid the Paleisheuwel photovoltaic power plant, which is located in South Africa’s Western Cape province and is Enel’s largest power plant currently in operation in the country.

Paleisheuwel has an installed capacity of 82.5 MW and is able to generate more than 153 GWh per year, equivalent to the annual energy consumption needs of around 48,000 South African households, thereby avoiding the emission of more than 140,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.

The PV power plant is supported by a 20-year power supply agreement with the South African utility Eskom, as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) tender promoted by the South African government following which the Enel Group was awarded the project.

In South Africa, Enel’s South African renewable subsidiary EGP RSA currently owns and operates the 10 MW Upington photovoltaic power plant situated in the Northern Cape province, and has further 430 MW of projects currently under construction, which are the Adams (82.5 MW), Pulida (82.5 MW) and Tom Burke (66 MW) photovoltaic plants and the Nojoli (88 MW) and Gibson Bay (111 MW) wind farms. Moreover, in 2015 Enel was awarded a further five wind projects for a total capacity of 705 MW following the fourth phase of REIPPPP tender. Once all these projects will be completed, Enel’s total capacity in the country will be around 1.2 GW.