- Having been awarded 1782 hectares of land to develop several green baseload power plants in the province of Mpumalanga by Eskom under a public tender, the French-based IPP is proud to be part of the Just Energy Transition (JET) in South Africa.
This land leased by HDF Energy represent six different locations where 1500 MW of photovoltaic plants will be deployed with more than 3500 MWh of hydrogen-based long-term storage to serve more than 1.4 million inhabitants all day and all night, all year round. These projects represent an investment of USD 3 billion.
Eskom issued a request for proposal (RFP) in April 2022, which was followed by a meticulous selection process. The selected bidders will lease a total of 6184 hectares of land for a period of between 25 and 30 years each.
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With Mpumalanga being the heart of the JET in South Africa, there is a lot at stake. It is of great concern the way the energy transition is to be handled, specifically for communities and workers that have depended on the continued existence of the coal economy, and HDF has a bankable solution that can make a substantial and meaningful contribution to that process.
Energy demand is increasing whereas coal power plants are planned to be decommissioned. There is a delicate balancing act at play. Time is of the essence; new capacities should be fast-to-deploy. This is where HDF’s Renewstable® technology becomes particularly attractive.
“This is a very exciting result, and the team is more than ready to hit the ground running. While addressing immediate challenges related to the lack of baseload and dispatchable electricity, HDF Energy projects in South Africa will kick start the large-scale industrial deployment of the hydrogen economy in the country and create jobs in Mpumalanga for the workers of the coal industry in transition.” Says Nicolas Lecomte, HDF’s Director for Southern Africa.
The HDF’s Renewstable® architecture will provide stable and dispatchable power thus adding stability to the grid. A Renewstable® power plant uses local sources of clean energy to enhance domestic production of electricity, reducing exposure to imported fuels, associated price volatility and supply risks.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
