The Oasis 1 battery energy storage systems portfolio – led by independent power producer EDF Group in collaboration with Mulilo, Pele Green Energy and Gibb Crede – reached financial close this month.
Awarded under South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Program, the projects include Oasis Mookodi (77 MW, 308 MWh), Oasis Aggeneis (77 MW, 308 MWh) and Oasis Nieuwehoop (103 MW, 412 MWh). Located in the Northern Cape, they collectively provide a capacity of 257 MW and 1,028 MWh of storage.
Financial close for Oasis Mookodi was finalized on November 15, with Aggeneis and Nieuwehoop following on November 20.
“Our projects will store and dispatch power to provide grid constraint relief, energy arbitrage and help to stabilize the grid for short periods by providing or absorbing power,” stated Beatrice Buffon, Group Senior Executive Vice-President of EDF International Division and CEO of EDF Renewables.
The projects are financed with R7 billion in debt funding from Standard Bank of South Africa and ABSA and will operate under a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement with Eskom. Each project incorporates a 5% community ownership stake via a Community Trust.
