Name of the Project
Umoyilanga hybrid power plant.

Location
Avondale, in the Northern Cape, and Dassiesridge, in the Eastern Cape, in South Africa.

Project Owner/s
EDF Renewables and Perpetua Holdings.

Project Description
The project combines solar, wind and battery storage technologies to offer dispatchable and reliable power to the national electricity grid.

The project will operate as a virtual power plant, combining generation from two sites which are 900 km apart – Avondale, with 115 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) and 30 MW of battery storage, and Dassiesridge, with 63 MW of wind and  45 MW of battery storage.

The unique combination of wind and solar resources with batteries enables Umoyilanga to provide 75 MW on demand from 05:00 to 21:30 in accordance with the requirements of the power purchase agreement.

To achieve this, batteries at Dassiesridge will generally charge from the wind energy at night, discharging power in the morning until the sun rises. 

The solar installation at Avondale will supply the bulk of the energy during the day, supplemented by wind energy from Dassiesridge.

Excess solar energy will be used to charge the batteries at Avondale, which will discharge after sunset.

An energy management system will give instructions to assets across both sites to optimise the power supply in real time, depending on weather forecasts and Eskom’s requirements.

Potential Job Creation
The project has committed to providing about 890 job-year opportunities for South African citizens during the construction period across Dassiesridge and Avondale.

It has also committed to contributing more than 40% of the capital expenditure to local content, including the procurement of South African goods and services.

Capital Expenditure
The project forms part of a R34-billion investment.

Planned Start/End Date
The project achieved commercial and financial close in November 2023. Commercial operation is expected in May 2025.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
China Energy Engineering Corporation (final design, procurement and construction of the  115 MW Avondale PV plant); Vestas (turbine supply and the installation of 14 wind turbines of 4.5 MW each on Dassiesridge); Power Construction and Adenco Construction (balance of plant to build all required infrastructure on Dassiesridge); and Sungrow Power Supply (battery energy storage systems to Avondale and Dassiesridge).

Contact Details for Project Information
EDF Renewables, tel +27 21 657 4200 or email info@edf-re.co.za.