Solar company Scatec starts construction work to ease the burden on Eskom

A multi-billion rand construction work is underway in the Northern Cape as renewables company, Scatec, is building a massive project.

Scatec engineers are already at work for the project which forms part of the South African government’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.

Engineering News has it that once operational, the project will have a total solar capacity of 540MW and battery storage capacity of 225MW/1 140MWh.

The project, administered by Scatec, will provide 150MW of dispatchable power under a 20-year power purchase agreement as per a statement from Scatec.

The renewables company, Scatec, says it is due to start supplying power within 15 months of construction starting, thus easing the burden on Eskom.

“We were extremely careful when we started to lay out the facility site. Learning from a rigorous environmental impact assessment process, we realised there is rich biodiversity in the region, and every precaution was taken to minimise the environmental impact,” says Jan Fourie, executive vice-president for Scatec in Sub-Saharan Africa.

As previously reported by BusinessTech Africa, Scatec reached financial close on the development of the Kenhardt site earlier this year and according to Scatec, the Kenhardt region is rich in plant biodiversity.

The region boasts rare plants such as 16 species of fauna and 99 plants (flora) species of “conservation concern” life puts a special responsibility on anyone who does any kind of construction work in the vicinity, it notes.

“If you look at the map and the configuration of our site, you can see clearly how we identified local sensitive areas,” explains Fourie.

“Among other ecological sensitivity, we took into consideration the location of quiver trees and hydrology. Even the access roads themselves were carefully planned. We did everything we can to avoid protected plant communities and animal life.”

Furthermore, Scatec’s Fourie explained that legislation requires the project to always maintain a net gain of species.

“When you look at pictures of the Kenhardt region, you may very well think you are looking at a barren, dry, and desolate landscape,” continued Fourie.

“This would be completely wrong, as our research and planning have shown. There is an enormous richness of life in the area, and we will do everything we can to protect it.”

As Scatec was awarded preferred bidder status in June 2021 on three projects by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy under the technology-agnostic Risk Mitigation Power Procurement Programme, the firm said the projects have a total estimated capex of $1 billion (R18 billion).