Sibanye-Stillwater reaches financial close in 140MW wind farm wheeling agreement

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  • Sibanye-Stillwater is pleased to announce that it has concluded its fourth renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA), and reached financial close, for an additional 140-megawatt (MW) wind energy project, the Umsinde Emoyeni Wind Farm, located on the border between the Northern Cape Province and the Western Cape Province near Murraysburg, South Africa.
  • The Umsinde Emoyeni Wind Farm construction will commence shortly, with commercial operation scheduled for Q4 2026.
  • The project will supply Sibanye-Stillwaterโ€™s SA operations utilising the national grid through a secured wheeling agreement with Eskom.

Under the terms of a 20-year PPA with Sibanye-Stillwater, the project will be fully funded by a project consortium which will build, own and operate the project. The project consortium is led by African Clean Energy Developments (ACED) and Energy Infrastructure Management Services (EIMS Africa), which are African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) renewable energy project development, delivery and asset management platforms.

Reatile Renewables is also a shareholder in the consortium. AIIM is a division of Old Mutual Alternative Investments (OMAI) which has invested in the project through its IDEAS Fund, one of South Africaโ€™s largest domestic infrastructure equity funds. Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), a division of FirstRand Bank Limited, is the sole mandated lead arranger for the project with Sibanye-Stillwater.

This project, together with Sibanye-Stillwaterโ€™s previously announced PPAs (which also include the ACED- EIMS-IDEAS Castle Wind Farm), brings the total dedicated capacity of renewable energy projects in construction for Sibanye-Stillwaterโ€™s exclusive use to 407MW, making Sibanye-Stillwater one of the market leaders in private energy procurement in the country and secures 70% of its long-term energy requirements in South Africa.

Combined, the 407MW of renewable capacity will enable a 24% reduction in Sibanye- Stillwaterโ€™s Scope 2 emissions or c. 1,450,000t CO2e per year from 2027, and will materially contribute to alleviating the South African electricity crisis. The projects will further enable socio-economic development for local communities and meet the requirements of the South African Mining Charter. Sibanye-Stillwater continues to pursue the balance of its 600MW portfolio of renewable energy projects in its journey to carbon neutrality.

Author: Bryan Groenendaal

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