Black-owned coal mining group Seriti Resources has announced a massive 900MW wind farm in Mpumalanga, making it the largest of its kind in the country.
The overall Ummbila Emoyeni project, located between Bethal and Morgenzon in Mpumalanga, will combine 750MW of wind and 150MW solar generation. About half of the renewable energy infrastructure will be owned and maintained by Seriti Green, while the other half will form part of Eskom’s national grid, said Mike Teke, chair of Seriti Green and group CEO of Seriti Resources on Wednesday.
The payback period for renewable energy projects has become more attractive as infrastructure costs have reduced while Eskom electricity costs have increased way above inflation rates. Mine inflation has been running at double digits for years, forcing management to seek ways to lower costs while transitioning to green energy. ADVERTISEMENT: CONTINUE READING BELOW Miners going green
In February, Anglo American announced that its Envusa Energy joint venture with EDF Renewables would supply 460MW to its Rustenburg Platinum operations through solar and wind. It teamed up with EDF Renewables to launch a 600MW pipeline of projects that would form part of an ecosystem generating 3-5GW of renewable energy by 2030.