Enel Green Power Enters South African Renewables Market

Enel Green Power has begun work on four solar and two wind power projects in South Africa, moving towards the Enel Group’s 2013-2017 Business Plan objective of entering emerging markets.

With four PV solar and two wind power projects totalling 513 megawatts of installed capacity, Enel Green Power has entered into a South African renewable energy market that has high growth potential, with the country planning to increase its installed renewable energy capacity by by 3.7 gigawatts by 2016.

EGP has won supply contracts with South African utility Eskom which will see the installation of 314 megawatt peaks of solar power and 199MW of wind power. The solar power plants will be equipped with thin-film modules manufactured by 3Sun, the joint venture established by EGP, STMicroelectronics and Sharp.

The Aurora, Tom Burke, Paleisheweul and Pulida solar power plants will be located in the Northern Cape, Western Cape, Free State and Limpopo provinces, in areas which see the greatest concentration of solar radiation, while the Gibson Bay and Cookhouse wind farms will be built in the areas of the Eastern Cape where winds are strong.

The six plants, which will be completed by 2016, require a total investment of around