As the country continues to face power and electricity problems frequently, the Western Cape government has welcomed the plan to develop a 100MW renewable energy project by ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA).
The country’s primary steel producer announced that they plan to develop a 100MW renewable energy project for both Gauteng and the Western Cape, subject to the outcome of a feasibility study, which they expect to be finalised during 2023/2024.
They said that the alternative energy source will also offer more energy security by enabling AMSA plants to be less dependent on costly electricity supply from the national grid. The aforementioned has significantly impacted business performance in recent years.
AMSA CEO Kobus Verster said: “This is an important step in our decarbonisation journey and takes advantage of the changes to legislation announced by the South African government last year, which allow private investors to build their own power plants with up to 100 megawatts of generating capacity without requiring a license.”
In a statement issued by the Western Cape Economic Development and Tourism, the province said that they are happy that the company has chosen the Western Cape as one of the provinces to set the project up and they are delighted that the company is taking advantage of the amendments to the Electricity Regulation Act. “Private sector investments like this will complement our own efforts in government to drive energy resilience in the Western Cape,” they further said.
“This is to allow municipalities, businesses and households to generate, procure and sell electrical energy.Together we are steadily moving towards mitigating the impact of load shedding, and towards a cleaner, greener, more energy secure future in the Western Cape,” they added.
The company will be moving to its next stage with several pre-qualified experts to start and complete the development. The company expects to benefit from the projects by early 2025, although this could change as the feasibility study reveals more.
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