Name of the Project
Tshedza solar PV power plant and battery energy storage system (BESS).

Location
The project will be equidistant between the Ergo plant and the Brakpan/Withok tailings storage facility (TSF), in Gauteng, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
DRDGOLD.

Project Description
The project comprises more than 133 000 solar panels and 43 batteries, providing a collective 187 MW of installed capacity.

It is estimated that the Tshedza circuit will reduce group CO₂ emissions by 52%.

Potential Job Creation
Members of the community that designed and built the plant have now been upskilled to operate and manage it as well.

More than 250 local community members were employed to do panel installation and cable laying.

Carbon Works is a company that has been established to focus only on the operation and maintenance of the Ergo power plant, and which forms part of Ergo’s management team.

Capital Expenditure
About R2.8-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
The project was connected to the grid in November 2024 .

Latest Developments
The solar plant has received a formal grid connection certificate from Eskom.

The connection enables the operation to offset excess power generated against Ergo’s other power accounts.

A constant feed of stable power into the circuit is crucial. If the Ergo plant loses power for three minutes, operation will cease for four to five hours, owing to the constant flow of gold-bearing slurry coming into it from as far afield as Soccer City, about 50 km away.

The battery and solar circuit enables the plant to run from six o'clock in the morning to nine o'clock at night, which provides the operation with additional daytime solar power to go back into the grid.

At night, it is possible for power to also be evacuated back into the grid from the battery, and in that way, sweat the asset, which is not currently planned.

 “The expansion of our Far West Gold Recoveries operations will add energy consumption, so we’re looking at alternative solar projects to reduce emissions . . . as far as possible," Ergo COO Jaco Schoeman has said in terms of lowering CO₂ emissions beyond Tshedza's 52%.

The back-end of Tshedza’s bifacial panels provide 18% additional electricity from ground-up reflection. They also track the sun and have the highest current hail resistance rating. Every barcoded panel has stated output capacity and switch-on date.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Enerj (pylons, overhead transmission lines and substations).

Contact Details for Project Information
R&A Strategic Communications on behalf of DRDGOLD, Jane Kamau, tel +27 11 880 3924 or email jane@rasc.co.za.