Mooi Plaats Renewable Project Delivers 240MW To Power Industry And Advance South Africa Energy Shift

Located in the Northern Cape, the Mooi Plaats project delivers 240MW of renewable energy into the national electricity grid. Image supplied.

Located in the Northern Cape, the Mooi Plaats project delivers 240MW of renewable energy into the national electricity grid, supporting Valterra Platinum, De Beers and Kumba Iron Ore operations in South Africa and contributing to the broader transformation of the country’s energy landscape.

Building momentum

Nolitha Fakude, chair of Envusa Energy’s board of directors and chair of Anglo American in South Africa, says, “Mooi Plaats marks yet another important step in the evolution of Envusa Energy and our long-term decarbonisation journey of Envusa’s clients.

“This project is the first of the three projects to reach commercial operations, with the two 140MW projects to follow this year.

“Mooi Plaats is not only a source of low-carbon power — it is an enabler of new socio-economic opportunities and stronger national energy security.”

Mooi Plaats supports reliable energy delivery and meaningful tariff savings through long-term offtake agreements with Kumba Iron Ore, Valterra Platinum and De Beers.

Mooi Plaats is the first project in the Envusa Portfolio, which will aggregate the energy from the Koruson 2 cluster and allocate the energy according to the demand of its clients’ operations, utilising the portfolio wheeling concept, which has been developed and implemented in collaboration with Eskom.

Tristan de Drouas, CEO at EDF Power Solutions in South Africa, notes, “The commercial operation of Mooi Plaats demonstrates the momentum which is building within our partnership with Anglo American.

“Through Envusa Energy, we are deploying world-class renewable energy projects and aggregation capability that contributes directly to South Africa’s energy transition.”

Investing in the community

Envusa Energy is also investing R20m into local socio-economic development projects for the Inxuba Yethemba Middleburg community.

The community participates in project ownership through the Winds of Change Community Trust. “Envusa Energy is proud to partner with Pele Green in this project,” Fakude says.

Gqi Raoleka, CEO of Pele Green Energy, adds, “This is our first investment alongside Envusa, a particularly significant partnership given our shared commitment to South Africa and to developing communities alongside our respective mining and power assets.

“Beyond delivering 240MW of clean energy, this project demonstrates how the energy transition can strengthen energy security, support decarbonisation and create meaningful socio-economic impact for host communities.”