Multinational mining company Sibanye-Stillwater has inked its first power purchase agreement (PPA) for the 89 MW Castle Wind Energy Farm, set to be constructed in De Aar Town in the Northern Cape Province.
A consortium comprising the African Infrastructure Investment Managers and Reatile Renewables will fund, develop and operate the wind farm as part of the 15-year PPA signed with Sibanye-Stillwater.
The construction of the project – Sibanye-Stillwater’s first utility-scale renewables facility and South Africa’s largest private wind energy farm project will start in June 2023 and commercial operation is anticipated in early 2025. Once completed, the project will power Sibanye-Stillwater’s operations in South Africa through a wheeling agreement signed with state utility Eskom.
Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater said “This marks our first major step in delivering over 550 MW of our renewable project portfolio and is a significant milestone in our journey to carbon neutrality by 2040.”
In addition to reducing the company’s carbon footprint and energy costs, the project will add to South Africa’s climate action strategy while helping the country address electricity deficit on the main grid.
