• EDF commissions 420 MW Koruson 1 wind cluster

• Power sold under 20-year PPA, supplies 193,000 homes

• Project includes substation linking up to 1.5 GW

EDF Renewables South Africa, a subsidiary of the EDF Group, said on Tuesday, Feb. 25, that it had commissioned the 420 MW Koruson 1 wind cluster. The project is located between Noupoort and Middelburg, on the border of the Eastern and Northern Cape provinces.

The cluster combines three 140 MW wind farms, San Kraal, Phezukomoya and Coleskop. All three were selected on Oct. 28, 2021, in the fifth bidding round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). The final investment decision was taken in the second quarter of 2022. The electricity generated is sold under a 20-year power purchase agreement with the national grid operator. According to the developer, the project can supply power to around 193,000 South African households.

Koruson 1 was developed by a consortium led by EDF Renewables South Africa in partnership with H1 Holdings, Gibb-Crede and a local community trust. The project comprises 78 turbines spread across approximately 500 square kilometres at elevations above 1,600 metres. Construction was challenging due to the site’s remote location, EDF said. The works required more than 110 kilometres of access roads and the transport of components over a distance exceeding 400 kilometres from the Port of Coega.

In addition to the 420 MW of installed capacity, the consortium built what it describes as the country’s largest privately developed substation. The facility is designed to connect up to 1.5 GW of renewable energy to the national grid, well beyond the needs of the Koruson 1 project alone. The development comes as South Africa continues to face transmission capacity constraints.

Large-scale clusters combining several power plants and shared grid infrastructure are becoming more common in South Africa. Developers such as NOA and Scatec are pursuing similar projects with capacities of several hundred megawatts. This reflects the increasing consolidation and scaling-up of the country’s renewable energy market, at a level rarely seen elsewhere on the continent.

Launched in 2011, the REIPPPP has awarded dozens of gigawatts of renewable capacity to independent power producers. The gradual opening of South Africa’s electricity sector to private investment, in both generation and related infrastructure, has become a key driver of the country’s energy transition.

Abdoullah Diop