Eskom says the companies will now do comprehensive feasibility studies to determine which technologies will be implemented at each site wind, solar, and battery storage.
The exact generation capacity will only be known once the studies have been completed.
The power utility signed 10 to 20 years of land lease agreements with the four independent power producers. This comes soon after President Cyril Ramaphosa made a call to power producers to urgently respond to the country’s energy crisis.
Eskom CEO, Andre de Ruyter says the deal signed on Friday will not eat into the pockets of South Africans. And, it is estimated that the first power generation will be in the next 24-36 months, subject to environmental, land zoning, and other regulatory approvals.
The lease agreements will be for the commercial lease and the use of land parcels at two of its power stations in Mpumalanga. And will see clean energy generation contributing an estimated 2000 megawatts to the national grid.
“It is safe to say that it is at least 2000 MW which of cause goes a long way in the 4 to 6 MW that Eskom has been saying in a few years or so that we require,” says De Ruyter.
The power utility says it plans to make more land available around its power stations and other sites where there is sufficient grid capacity to connect renewable energy producers.
Eskom signs agreements with Independent Power Producers:
