Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on August 14 visited Seriti Green’s flagship Ummbila Emoyeni renewable-energy project in Mpumalanga, highlighting it as an exemplar for the country’s just energy transition (JET).

The project was “major”, as it iwas located in the coal heartlands, where the majority of the country’s energy came from, and also represented the coexistence of renewable-energy technology with coal, the Minister told media on the sidelines of the visit.

“What’s more significant is that [Seriti Green] has been able to invest in the people, and ensure the coexistence of primary agriculture and the interventions that they are making. The Seriti Green project is a perfect illustration of what can be achieved –  a genuine, JET,” he acclaimed.

He also welcomed the investment from Chinese-company Goldwind, which was supplying the wind turbines to Seriti Green, as it represented foreign direct investment into the country.

Seriti Green project manager Rudolph Botha pointed out that an associated benefit of the project was the company’s R50-million co-investment with Goldwind in upgrading the facilities at the Port of Richards Bay, where the turbines for the project were being delivered.

Ramokgopa emphasised that energy development was a lynchpin for economic development in the country.

“Energy leads and the rest follows. It must be affordable and the mix must be right. Ummbila Emoyeni is a perfect illustration of the best of the renewable-energy sector and it is significant that it is happening in Mpumalanga.” (Also see attached video for more of the Minister’s thoughts on the positive impact of the project.)

Seriti Green, a wholly South African and majority black-owned independent power producer, is pursuing the advancement of the country’s JET, through the Ummbila Emoyeni project, as well as the adjacently-located Phefumula Emoyeni wind farm project.  

The company is a subsidiary of Seriti Resources, which has a 54.18% stake, while other shareholders include VennEnergy with a 15% stake, Rand Merchant Bank with a 15.41% stake and Standard Bank with a 15.41% stake.

Seriti Resources CEO Mike Teke explained that coal still had a role to play in the country’s energy mix as part of the JET, noting that the group was cognisant of this, with no plans to sell any of its coal mine assets, and continuing to develop these.

The project is a manifestation of Seriti Resources’ hybrid strategy of having both coal and renewable-energy assets in its portfolio.

“What has been unfortunate in the country is what I call the binarization of the conversation – it's coal or renewables – and I’m saying it’s all of the above, but also accepting that there’s going to be an exponential increase of the share of renewables in the mix, and then reduce the emissions of the coal power stations that continue to run,” Ramokgopa commented.

However, Teke did draw attention to an issue being faced as that of the onerous red tape companies contend with, with long lead times and challenges in the approvals process.

Seriti Green CEO Peter Venn reiterated this point, noting that it took several years to secure the paperwork to build the project, incongruously longer that the time it takes to actually build it. 

Ramokgopa acknowledged that private investment in renewable energy was necessary to meet the country’s goals of an additional 15 GW of energy by 2030, and that this would not be realised without resolving regulatory challenges.   

“What we want to do is to make sure that we ease the regulatory requirements, the time it takes for the approvals to happen, in particular, the zoning, the environmental-impact assessments (EIAs), the water-use licences and the grid access – you need to truncate all of that,” he told Engineering News and Mining Weekly.

He added that issues being faced in the space were gleaned from discussions with Seriti on the day, underscoring the importance of learning from live projects.

Ramokgopa mentioned that it was significant that all three spheres of government were present at the site visit, showcasing the importance of the project to the country, as well as enabling work to be streamlined.  

PROJECT BREAKDOWN

Located between Bethal and Morgenzon in Mpumalanga, Ummbila Emoyeni is South Africa’s first wind farm in the province. 

A provincial representative highlighted that the project “brings a lot of excitement for the people of Mpumalanga”, notwithstanding many communities previously being sceptical about the concept of the JET, owing to the province’s reliance on the coal mining industry.

However, positive impact is now materialising, including the creation of 2 000 jobs to date, and the support for small-, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) and skilled and unskilled workers, she averred.

Ummbila Emoyeni was a 900 MW hybrid energy facility in the Highveld area of Mpumalanga. The development would ultimately consist of 750 MW wind energy, 150 MW solar PV and 800 MWh battery storage, Venn told the publication.

The first three phases of the seven-stage Ummbila Emoyeni project, each comprising a 155 MW wind energy facility, are scheduled to begin commercial operation in the first half of 2027.

Once completed, it would be the largest renewable hybrid energy facility in South Africa, and the country’s largest wind farm, Venn acclaimed.

Botha purported that these were also the biggest turbines on the continent, at present.  

The wind farm will supply Seriti Resources’ coal mines with up to 500 GWh/y of electricity, representing 75% of the group’s energy needs, and aligned to its decarbonisation strategy.

The project’s anticipated total capital investment spend will be R70-billion. Venn informed that there was currently financial close of R10-billion for the first set of turbines, and the company would be closing out on the remainder over the next 12 months, with these to be built over the next 30 to 36 months. He added that all of the funding was sourced from South Africa-based financial institutions.

About R385-million will go towards funding SMMEs and social development projects, with efforts in this vein detailed later.

To enable grid integration, Seriti Green is constructing two substations, the Vunumoya Main Transmission Substation (MTS) and the Numoya Distribution Substation (DX).

The MTS is a 400/132 kV 500 MVA substation that will connect the wind farm to State-owned utility Eskom’s 400 kV transmission network, while the Numoya DX substation will deliver energy from the wind farm at 132 kV to the MTS through a new 3.5 km overhead line.

Ramokgopa’s visit began at the former, currently under construction in Morgenzon, with 1 200 people undertaking construction. This R1-billion investment is anticipated to enable the efficient delivery of renewable energy from the project to the national grid.

Venn informed that commercial operation date will be reached on the MTS in October, enabling energy to be exported onto the grid.

COMMUNITY IMPACT AND DEVELOPMENT

In its JET endeavours, Seriti is aiming to be inclusive and consultative, with minimal job losses and the creation of new employment opportunities in the green economy.

Venn highlighted the company’s focus on local employment in the construction of its projects, leveraging the Seriti Green Hub platform, a digital recruitment and procurement portal, which currently has over 1 800 registered vendors and over 10 000 local job seekers.

Contractors are required to use the hub to ensure SMME participation, and Seriti Green also leverages insights from here to develop initiatives to support these businesses.

The construction of Ummbila Emoyeni Wind Farm has created over 2 000 jobs thus far, with 59% of these jobs being local.

Venn said that the company was cognisant of the alignment between skillsets in the mining sector and those required in certain areas of renewable energy, and thus was retraining former coal workers on renewables.

“More than 50% of the skills needed in renewables are in the coal industry. We are not going to be able to replace all the coal mineworkers. But the skills can be easily transferred from coal to renewables and that is what this project brings about,” he averred.

Moreover, the company aims to build on this work and diversify its approach, to ensure sustainable, long-term jobs beyond the energy sector.

In this vein, it introduced the Agri4Change programme in August 2024, in partnership with Angels Resource Centres.

This flagship initiative aims to empower emerging agri-entrepreneurs in Bethal, Davel and Morgenzon through structured training, mentorship and resource provision.

The programme began with a five-day agri bootcamp for 150 participants, culminating in the selection of 30 beneficiaries for a 24-month accredited development journey.

These 30 entrepreneurs receive business and agricultural training, mentorship and grant funding, while the remaining participants were supported with crop tunnels and African grower kits to continue their agri-business pursuits independently.

Ramokgopa met with some of the beneficiaries of the project, who regaled him with the positive impact it had had on their lives and businesses, permitting them to support their families.

They also mentioned that it had brought opportunities back into the region, facilitating economic development, and called for work to continue. 

Also present was a local entrepreneur who undertook the steelwork for the turbine’s foundations. He highlighted that this opportunity had enabled him to grow his business and the number of employees, and that he was optimistic that more work would be forthcoming in the upcoming phases.

The Ummbila Emoyeni development is about 27 000 ha, comprising 30 landowners and 162 farms. The land is secured by means of access and option agreements. Long-term leases and servitudes will be registered against the title deeds of relevant project properties with the process completed for Phase 1, while that for Phases 2 and 3 is underway.

Seriti Green is involving local communities, including Bethal, Davel and Morgenzon in the project by providing them with guidance on subcontracting and tender applications.

About 500 000 households in the local community are also expected to benefit from electricity from the project once it closes in 2027.

Venn added that Seriti Green had purchased a 5 000 m² building in Bethal, which would serve as the company’s main offices once renovations were completed and the project was operational, in the pursuit of driving local economic development.