By Faridat Salifu
A consortium led by Électricité de France (EDF) and Mulilo Energy Holdings, have been awarded preferred bidder status for three electricity storage projects in South Africa with the construction scheduled to commence in mid-2024.
The South African government initiated the Independent Power Purchase through Energy Storage Programme (BESIPPPP) to accelerate private investment in electricity storage.
Following a competitive tender process by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the EDF and Mulilo consortium secured the preferred bidder status for the Oasis Aggeneis, Oasis Mookodi, and Oasis Nieuwehoop storage systems.
Robert Helms, Partner at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a majority shareholder in Mulilo, while reacting to the development, emphasized the significance of achieving the preferred bidder status as a key milestone in Mulilo’s rapid expansion journey.
Reports say, the total investment for the three facilities, which will have a storage capacity of 1,028 MWh/257 MW, amounts to 7 billion South African rand, equivalent to approximately $375 million.
The construction will begin at the Northern Cape and North West provinces, with the facilities operating under a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with state-owned utility Eskom.
In addition to EDF and Mulilo, the Norwegian company Scatec has also been chosen in the first BESIPPPP tender to install a battery storage system at the Ferrum substation in the Northern Cape province.
This development follows the Risk Mitigation Programme for Independent Power Producers (RMIPPPP) initiated in response to the electricity crisis, enabling the construction of several solar photovoltaic power plants in South Africa.