- Atlantis Foundries (Pty) Ltd (AF), one of Africa’s largest foundry operations, has signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Energy Partners (EP), an integrated energy solutions company.
According to the terms of the agreement, EP will engineer, finance, construct and operate the ground-mounted solar energy system at AF’s production plant, comprising more than 20,000 solar panels and boasting a total rated capacity of 13.5MWp. It will be the Western Cape’s largest embedded generation solar project.
Chief Executive Officer of EP, Manie de Waal, affirms that the PPA, set to commence on May 1, 2024, will not only provide AF with a reliable electricity source at a substantially reduced cost over the next 20 years, it will also align AF with growing environmental awareness in the automotive industry.
“Opting for renewable energy is a significant step, and the system that we designed for AF is expected to save more than 22,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, likely the highest reduction achieved in the South African automobile industry. In financial terms, the system will generate electricity worth more than R35 million per year at current average Eskom tariffs,” he confirms.
From left: Charl du Plessis (general manager, EP Power), Walter Mubai (chief financial officer, AF), Pieter du Plessis (CEO, AF), Manie de Waal (CEO, EP Group), and Kurt Miller (chief investment officer, EP Group). Image credit: Energy Partners
The system, which has been specifically engineered to align with the foundry’s electrical consumption profile, is estimated to replace up to 20 percent of AF’s annual electricity consumption, considerably reducing its carbon footprint and representing a major step towards sustainable energy utilisation.
It will be integrated into AF’s electrical network that is connected to the City of Cape Town’s grid, and excess energy generated by the plant will be fed into the City’s network through the feed-in programme, contributing to the overall renewable energy capacity of Cape Town.
The project sets the stage for future embedded generation systems exceeding 1MW within Cape Town and the rest of the province.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
2 Comments
How will you overcome the problem of iron filings that land on the solar panels constantly which is prevalent at that site?
Good question.