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South African independent power producer Mulilo Energy has appointed former Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer as its new non-executive chairperson as it gears up to grow its renewables and battery storage portfolio by about 5 GW over the coming five years.

The appointment became effective from September 1.

Mulilo was founded in 2008 by Chris Aberdein and Johnny Cullum, who is the current CEO and the company is now majority owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) New Markets Fund I. CIP manages 11 funds and has to date raised about €25-billion for investments in energy and associated infrastructure.

The company has a 400 MW operating portfolio of four wind and two utility-scale solar projects, and a 25 GW pipeline of wind, solar and battery storage projects.

Oberholzer, 65, departed Eskom in July having worked at the utility for more than 30 of his 41 years as a professional in the South African energy sector.

He tells Engineering News that he views the appointment as an opportunity to lend his significant experience to the roll-out of much-needed new generation capacity in South Africa, which continues to experience daily rotational power cuts.

Mulilo, which has already been awarded power purchase agreements (PPAs) under South Africa's public procurement bid windows, will continue to participate in upcoming bidding rounds for solar, wind and battery storage.

However, it will also pursue opportunities arising in the private sector as a result of recent reforms allowing for such projects to proceed without a licence and wheel electricity through the grid and has already signed a long-term PPA with Air Products South Africa for 75 MW.

The company was also named, together with Total, as a preferred bidder for two hybrid projects under South Africa's much-delayed Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme and Oberholzer expressed optimism of possible progress toward financial close in the coming months.

Oberholzer also tells Engineering News that he foresees a possible role for Mulilo in the roll-out of grid infrastructure, which has emerged as a key constraint to adding new generation, particularly in the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape provinces.

He says that, while Eskom's model for adding new transmission capacity has proved successful in the past, the scale of the investment required currently may require a change to the model to include additional investors.

"Eskom has a balance sheet challenge and has a further challenge in terms of who is going to build the lines.

"In a good year about 300 km is added, but this now needs to be stepped up significantly, and this is why I believe that Eskom and the country needs to look at the model and allow for private participation."

Cullum says Mulilo is thrilled to welcome Oberholzer as its new chairperson given his deep understanding of the South African energy industry and his passion for contributing to South Africa's growth and a just energy transition.

"Under his guidance, we are confident in our ability to further accelerate our contributions to a cleaner, more sustainable future underpinning economic and just growth for all South Africans," Cullum says.

The South African Insurance Association (SAIA) has launched a Web-based facility that allows consumers to research the status of a vehicle within the industry's Vehicle Salvage Database (VSD) before they potentially buy it.

Named VIN-Lookup, access is free. (The Web address is www.vinlookupsa.co.za.)

Consumers need to complete three fields on the screen, namely name, identity number and vehicle identification number (VIN).

If the VIN is found on the database, the user will see a short narrative about the vehicle.

The text could look similar to the following: "SJNXXXX15Z6299693. The vehicle was deregistered as DEMOLISHED because it had irreparable structural damage that could not be repaired to a safe and roadworthy state AND no major components could be used for vehicle spare parts. In terms of Regulation 13A read with Regulation 1 and 55 of The National Road Traffic Act,1996, the vehicle shall not be registered and its parts shall not be used to build or repair any motor vehicle."

"The launch of VIN-Lookup is a contribution of the non-life insurers to help address the problem of purchasing unsafe repaired cars from vehicle salvage houses," says SAIA insurance risks manager Zakes Sondiyazi.

"SAIA urges consumers to use VIN-Lookup as just part of thorough research when buying a used car, rather than treat it as a single solution to understanding the history of a vehicle."

The implementation of VIN-Lookup is being done in phases. The first phase includes the following vehicle salvage records: Rebuilt (Code 3); Spare parts only (Code 3A); and Scrap - Permanently demolished (Code 4).

The vehicle salvage database from which the information is drawn for VIN-Lookup contains records that show how insurance companies have designated previously insured vehicles.

The database does not contain a comprehensive record of all vehicles and their status. Full records of all vehicles, insured or not, are held on the NaTIS system that falls under the Road Traffic Management Corporation, which is an agency of the Department of Transport.

The information provided through VIN-Lookup is considered complete at the time it was received, reflecting the status of the vehicle at the time it was in the possession of the insurance company.

The status returned is not a reflection of the quality of repair, nor roadworthiness of the vehicle, warns SAIA.

The second phase of VIN-Lookup will consider the inclusion of Used (written-off Code 2) vehicles and is scheduled to be available by the end of the year, at best.

Sondiyazi emphasises that the physical inspection of a salvaged vehicle by a trained professional remains the best option before the purchase of such a vehicle.

"We always recommend that you have any vehicle checked by a qualified third party to ensure it is roadworthy and repaired to an acceptable standard.

"Of the 14-million registered vehicles in South Africa, less than a third is insured," adds SAIA CEO Viviene Pearson.

"Therefore, the industry's vehicle salvage database will likely have less than 3% of vehicles that are written off, and most of these are vehicles that can either be rebuilt, or can only be used for spare parts, or should be demolished."

'Not getting to the heart of the problem' - Sambra

South African Motor Body Repairers Association (Sambra) national director Jacques Viljoen says while his industry welcomes the first release of VIN-Lookup, the launch fails to "get to the heart of the problem", which centres around previously written-off Code 2 vehicles that find their way to salvage yards and are then repaired and sold back into the system to unsuspecting consumers.

"The real issue we are fighting is transparency and access to information.

"The Code 3s and 4s are already on our system, but it is the Code 2s which have been declared uneconomical to repair which talk to the problem."

"It's simple," says Viljoen. "Without a transparent record, there is no way to inform prospective buyers of used-motor vehicles - whether they are ...

Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has attributed the "unwelcome" resumption of Stage 6 loadshedding, during which business and residential areas experience rotational cuts for as much as half of the hours in the day, to a combination of higher planned maintenance and a spike in unplanned breakdowns.

During a virtual briefing convened after Eskom reported that it would implement Stage 6 until further notice, Ramokgopa reported that Eskom had started ramping up planned maintenance as it exited the high-demand winter period, during which such outages had been capped at 2 500 MW.

Over the past seven days, an average of 5 844 MW had been removed for planned outages, which Eskom generation head Bheki Nxumalo said was in line with its outage schedule and which did not represent an overly aggressive ramp-up for the start of the summer maintenance period.

However, the ramp-up had coincided with a spike in unplanned breakdowns, which breached 17 290 MW on September 5 and had averaged more than 15 500 MW for the period since August 28, while partial load losses had averaged above 5 895 MW.

Eskom has indicated previously that the intensity of loadshedding will significantly rise every time unplanned breakdowns increased above 15 000 MW.

Nxumalo said generation problems started to become acute on September 2, when it lost units at Hendrina, Arnot, Drakensberg, Tutuka, Duvha and Kendal, which depleted its pumped hydro reserves and resulted in an intensification in the stages of loadshedding. The situation could also not be recovered on Sunday and Monday, owing to the loss of units at Majuba, Kendal, Medupi and Kriel.

However, he reported that he expected that various units would be returned in the coming days, which would enable Eskom to taper down loadshedding towards the latter part of the working week.

No prognosis was provided for the system for the rest of the high-maintenance summer months, with Eskom having scheduled a seasonal outlook briefing for September 26.

However, Ramokgopa insisted that there would be no compromise on planned maintenance, particularly now that Eskom, in line with the R254-billion debt-relief package extended to it by the National Treasury, finally had the financial certainty to prepare for such outages and to secure the necessary spares and skills.

"We have to do this work," the Minister said, while acknowledging that the planned outages would decrease plant availability and could, thus, result in periods of intense loadshedding should plants continue to break down.

Both he and Nxumalo also held firm to their argument that the performance of the fleet was on an upward trajectory, even though the energy availability factor (EAF) has remained below its already low level in 2022 for the year-to-date.

Nxumalo argued that this was largely attributable to the loss of the three Kusile units and the delayed return of Koeberg Unit 1 from its extended outage undertaken to prepare the unit for a 20-year life extension.

He argued that, if the 3 000 MW from Kusile and Koeberg could be stripped out, the EAF of the balance of the coal fleet would have shown an improvement during winter 2023 over what had been the case in the prior year's winter.

The three Kusile units, Nxumalo confirmed, would be returned at full nameplate using temporary stacks and would be returned in phases on a schedule that was ahead of the one initially outlined. In addition, Kusile Unit 5 would also synchronise to the grid simultaneously in November.

There was also growing optimism that more units would be returned stably from the troubled Tutuka power station, where Eskom is seeking to recover 1 680 MW by January.

Any notion of the fleet having been run harder during the recent BRICS summit, when cuts were reduced to low levels, was also dismissed out of hand.

Ramokgopa insisted that loadshedding was implemented regardless of events and said that Eskom could, thus, not guarantee that there would be no cuts during the Rugby World Cup, ...

The Ctrack Transport and Freight Index (Ctrack TFI) retreated further in July to an index level of 120.8, the lowest level this year since March (120.5).

This represents a decrease of 1.2% during the month of July.

This second consecutive monthly contraction confirms that the logistics sector is losing momentum, says the TFI report, compiled by logistics firm Ctrack.

In addition, four of the six sub-sectors measured by the index declined on a monthly basis, namely rail, road, storage and air freight.

Pipeline transport recorded marginal growth, while sea freight was the only sub-sector to show strong growth.

Despite these monthly contractions, the index is still tracking 3.3% higher on a yearly basis. Many challenges remain, however, states the report.

The South African transport and freight sector has been in sharp focus in the past few months as government started to come to terms with the negative impact the underperformance of the sector has on the broader economy.

In a recent update of Operation Vulindlela, published in August, government indicated that a new Freight Logistics Roadmap is undergoing an internal consultative process for publication before the end of the year.

This roadmap is set to incorporate proposals to resolve immediate operational challenges, while also developing interventions to restructure the country's logistics sector to support economic growth.

The implementation of the roadmap will be overseen by the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC), established earlier this year to address problems afflicting the sector, including a steep deterioration in rail services and ongoing port inefficiencies.

A joint strategic operations committee is also being established between the NLCC and the private sector, with organised business having identified the logistics crisis as one of three areas in which it will provide direct support to government.

"It is great that government is finally moving forward with Operation Vulindlela," says Ctrack CEO Hein Jordt.

"I do hope it ignites the recovery the broader transport industry and the South African economy so desperately needs."

Fragmented Growth

The Ctrack TFI sub-sectors has been characterised by fragmented growth over the past few months, derailing any hope of a synchronised recovery, states the index report.

Only three of the six sub-sectors of the index increased on a quarterly basis in July, with road, rail and air freight the laggards.

On a yearly basis, four of the six sub-sectors still declined, despite the overall index level increasing by 3.3% compared with a year earlier.

Among the sub-sectors, road transportation (the biggest sub-sector) has always been most resilient.

Still, yearly growth subsided to only 6.9% year-on-year during July, which is a far cry from the yearly growth of 28.2% experienced in August last year.

The road freight sector has experienced multiple headwinds in the past few months, including an IT glitch that caused border crossing delays and the burning of trucks on the N3 in KwaZulu-Natal, which subsequently spread to Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

These events had a visibly negative impact on the number of heavy vehicles on the road, especially during the first weeks of July.

While heavy vehicle traffic bounced back on the N4, growing by double-digits on a monthly basis and reversing the slump in June, truck traffic on the N3 route declined further during July.

While the road-freight payload for the country as a whole remained flat on a monthly basis, as recored by Statistics South Africa in its monthly Land Transport Survey, the Ctrack index saw the road freight sector decline on both a monthly and quarterly basis during July.

This sector remains critically important for the South African economy as trucks carry around 80% of goods in and around the country.

The rail freight sub-sector also subsided further in July, remaining deeply in negative territory on a yearly basis and declining by a further 6.2% year-on-year, which represe...

Although persisting with his position that he has the powers to determine the sources of new generation, Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says because the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy's (DMRE's) updating process is well advanced, he is supporting the department in preparing to release the new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for public consultation soon.

Responding to questions on the IRP during his weekly briefing on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan, Ramokgopa said he would be part of the "Ministerial team" that is currently finalising the document ahead of its approval for release.

"When I came into this space and was subsequently given powers in relation to the section [in the Act], you can see that the [Electricity] Minister has been given the power to determine the sources of generation capacity, which essentially talks to the IRP.

"But what we have decided to do is that, because DMRE has been running this process and has been seized with this matter for a period of time, we have allowed that to unfold to the point that it gets out into the public domain for public comments - we don't want to stop/start the process be because suddenly there are powers that are granted to you."

He said he would work "in tandem" with the DMRE and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to ensure the update is released and reported he had been working at a technical level on the update, which was "far advanced".

No details were provided on who had been responsible for the technical modelling, nor on whether Eskom had played any role in the update.

Earlier, Mantashe revealed that he had decided not to travel to Australia for a mining conference in the coming week to be able to personally present the document, which he dubbed 'IRP 2023', to a Cabinet committee, which would consider whether it was ready to be presented at the next meeting of the full executive.

Given that Cabinet typically meets on every second Wednesday, it is possible that the IRP update will be considered at the next meeting on September 13.

No details have been provided yet about the nature and timing of the public consultations, nor the content of the document.

However, Mantashe is a vocal supporter of nuclear, gas and what he calls clean-coal technology and there is, thus, and expectation that these will receive allocations, alongside solar, wind and storage.

Mantashe has also indicated that he wants the document, which will include pre- and post-2030 phases, approved this year.

Meanwhile, Ramokgopa reiterated government's target for releasing the next renewables bid window for 5 000 MW and a gas-to-power procurement for 3 000 MW during the second quarter of the fiscal year, which runs to the end of September.

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe's plan to take an updated Integrated Resource Plan through Cabinet processes soon and the latest update from the Department of Public Enterprises on Eskom's restructuring.

New Transnet chairperson Andile Sangqu has indicated that the troubled State-owned freight logistics group, which has hitherto prided itself on being financially self-sufficient, may require an equity injection to implement a turnaround strategy that is currently under development.

The group reported a net loss of R5.7-billion for the 2022/23 financial year on the back of a fall in rail and port volumes and a rise in finance costs to R12-billion from R10.5-billion and an increase in borrowings to R130-billion. In the previous financial year, Transnet reported a R5-billion profit, largely as a result of a R10-billion fair value adjustment, most of which related to its property portfolio.

Speaking at the group's results presentation, Sangqu said the immediate focus was on a 'back to basics' recovery of the group's operational performance, which continued to decline in the period under review.

However, he indicated that the yet-to-be-finalised turnaround plan would include financial restructuring to address the group's high level of debt, which was translating into monthly repayments of R1-billion, and could require an equity injection.

Sangqu did not provide any estimate for such an injection and described the financial restructuring component as being at an early stage.

Nevertheless, he indicated that the group might need to approach the National Treasury, through Transnet's shareholder Minister Pravin Gordhan, to assess the prospects of financial support to assist the turnaround.

Gordhan, who also participated in the results presentation, responded immediately by underlining government's current fiscal constraints.

The Public Enterprises Minister indicated that the fiscal position could deteriorate further as a result of persistently low growth and a revenue-collection outlook that had been weakened by a decline in commodity prices and the fall in commodity exports as a result of Transnet's underperformance.

Transnet's financial position should be improved, he argued, primarily through an operational turnaround, as well as cost cutting and a "crowding in" of private finance through partnerships rather than privatisation.

Gordhan called for urgent and corrective action, particularly within Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), which recorded a 13.6% fall in volumes to 149.5-million tons from an already low 173.1-million tons in the previous year. In 2017/18, rail volumes were above 220-million tons.

TFR's export coal volumes fell to 49.7-million tons (58.3-million tons), iron-ore to 51.1-million tons (54.6-million tons) and general freight to only 49.7-million tons (60.2-million tons), which translated to a revenue decline at the unit of 7.9% to R34.8-billlion and a 40.5% slump in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation to R6.7-billion.

CEO Portia Derby described the year as having been "harrowing" and attributed TFR's poor performance to a 25% reduction in available locomotives relative to the position five years ago, as well as ongoing cable theft.

LOCOMOTIVES OUT OF SERVICE

The decline in locomotive availability was an even more acute 32% on the export coal corridor, owing to an ongoing dispute with CRRC of China whose locomotives operate on the corridor.

Derby reported that there were 315 locomotives out of service at the end of March and that the figure had increase to 377 since then, resulting in an available fleet of only about 1 400 locomotives.

She reported that plans had been concluded with most of the original-equipment manufacturers to begin returning the locomotives to service, and expressed optimism that progress would also be made with CRRC, despite its ongoing disputes with both the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

Gordhan, who travelled to China in May in an effort to negotiate a breakthrough, said "constructive discussions" with CRRC to secure the spares required to return idle locomotive to service, as well as to ensure the delivery of a further...

With tough global economic financial conditions and the rising needs and development priorities that South Africa has, government must better manage its fiscal situation, as well as address its structural issues to ensure the country can be placed on a sustainable growth and debt path.

This was the key message conveyed by International Monetary Fund (IMF) first deputy MD Gita Gopinath, during a speaking engagement at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Economics and Finance on August 31.

Gopinath pointed out that the IMF provides financing to help offset tight financing situations, as well as assists governments with improving fiscal situations through better planning. It also offers advice and technical assistance on revenue and expenditure.

To improve South Africa's growth path, with IMF projections showing near-zero growth for the country this year, as well as minimal growth over the medium term, Gopinath averred that the IMF had suggested two areas of focus.

Its first recommendation is on the fiscal side.

Gopinath said the IMF was projecting the share of South Africa's revenue going to interest would increase from about 17% this year to 27% in 2028, and, therefore, it was recommending strengthening fiscal consolidation in the country.

She pointed out that the South African government had done well coming out of the pandemic, when the economy was recovering strongly, to reduce its fiscal deficits.

However, looking ahead, Gopinath emphasised that the country needed greater fiscal consolidation as IMF predictions showed fiscal deficits of about 6%.

One of the means to do this would be to prioritise which State-owned enterprises (SOEs) required funding, as considerable funds were currently being used to assist SOEs. The country also had to fix its wage bill.

Gopinath pointed out that revenues were also decreasing, owing to slower growth and with commodity prices not expected to reach the high levels experienced during the peak of the energy crisis that resulted from the Russia-Ukraine situation.

She emphasised, therefore, that it was critical to fix the country's energy crisis, as this had an impact on gross domestic product growth.

Secondly, Gopinath said the country needed to undertake structural reform and address structural issues.

She pointed out that SOEs such as Eskom and Transnet were critical and that it was, therefore, imperative to improve these entities' operational performance and their financial viability, both of which require considerable work.

Moreover, Gopinath posited that the government's role in, and support of, other SOEs needed to be reconsidered, with the potential for increased private sector participation, including in, for example, electricity generation.

She highlighted that the IMF saw the importance of the private sector playing a greater role in many SOEs. It considered the footprint of SOEs in the country to be too large.

Downscaled engineering and contracting group Murray & Roberts (M&R) is continuing with efforts to regain control of RUC, the Australian mining services business it lost when its Australian holding company and Clough entered voluntary administration in December.

Speaking at the company's results presentation, CEO Henry Laas refused to be drawn on the precise nature of processes currently being pursued to recover the company, saying only "we are still in the race".

M&R's prospects seemed to have been dented in July when RUC's administrators terminated an initial Deed of Company Arrangement proposal on the basis that certain conditions precedent had not been met.

However, Laas indicated that there was still a "reasonable chance" of securing RUC, albeit with the prosect that M&R would need to make a "monetary contribution" to do so. He also stressed that there were "no guarantees".

The JSE-listed company should know by the end of October whether it has been successful.

Should M&R fail in its bid to regain control, it would seek to re-establish a presence in the Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, through Cementation APAC, which has recently been established in Australia to provide engineering and contracting services to mining clients in the territory.

However, the pace at which mining-related revenues and group earnings would recover relative to its position ahead of the Covid pandemic - which precipitated the financial distress that resulted in M&R relinquishing its biggest operating platform in the form of Clough during its 2023 financial year - hinged on it securing RUC.

"Should the group retain RUC, the mining platform is expected to generate earnings at a level similar to that of the 2019 and 2020 financial years," Laas reported.

In 2019, the mining platform reported earnings of R814-million, which fell to R630-million the following year.

While M&R was optimistic about the prospects for renewables and grid-related workflow in South Africa and the Southern African region, the importance of mining services to its immediate outlook were highlighted in both its current revenue and earnings, as well as its order book.

Last year, the mining platform, which has units in Southern Africa and the Americas, recorded an operating profit of R313-million on the back of revenue of over R11-billion, while its power, industrial and water platform reported a R47-million operating loss and revenue of R1.3-billion.

The mining platform also comprised R13.6-billion of M&R's R15.4-billion order book as of June 30, 2023.

Laas argued that M&R still had a future despite the difficulties of the 2023 financial year, which had fundamentally reshaped the group and its prospects.

"We were all shocked," he said, indicating that there was an expectation at the start of the year that it could trade its way out of its liquidity challenges; a scenario that changed when two major claims were rebuffed.

"What we would like to do is put 2023 behind us," he added.

M&R recorded an attributable loss of R3.2-billion after accounting for the losses in Clough and the deconsolidation of Clough and RUC and its Australian holding company.

Following the deconsolidation, equity reduced to only R1.8-billion from R5.7-billion, while net asset value a share fell to R4 from R13 in the previous year.

Two more preferred bidders selected as part of the much-delayed Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), which was launched as an emergency procurement round in 2020, have signed project agreements signalling legal close and have until December to reach financial close.

The projects, which have a combined investment value of R14.6-billion, are the 128 MW Oya Energy Hybrid Facility, proposed for development in Matjiesfontein, which straddles the Northern and Western Cape provinces, and the 75 MW Umoyilanga Energy, across two sites at Avondale in the Northern Cape, and Dassiesridge in the Eastern Cape.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) said in a statement that the Oya project would be developed by G7 Renewable Energies, ENGIE, Meadows Oya Energy and Perpetua RMI4P, while the Umoyilanga project was being developed by EDF Renewables and Perpetua Holdings.

Both are hybrid renewable projects that include a combination of solar photovoltaic (PV), onshore wind and battery storage technologies that will meet the programme's production profile of being able to dispatch electricity between 5:00 in the morning and 21:30 at night.

Should the projects progress to financial close, they will join three Scatec projects, which are the only RMIPPPP projects to have entered construction to date. The Scatec projects involve 540 MW of solar PV, coupled with lithium-ion batteries with a capacity of 225 MW/1 140 MWh to produce 150 MW of dispatchable electricity.

Despite the delays, the programme has remained active and Karpowership, which secured 1 200 MW of the RMIPPPP's 2 000 MW allocation across three projects, has expressed optimism that its projects could also close soon.

However, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa insists that South Africa is unwilling to enter a power purchase agreement with the floating gas-to-power generators for more than five years. But he has not yet indicated how government intends shortening the 20-year period extended to the hybrid projects for the powerships.

In a statement released after the signing ceremony, presided over by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, the DMRE said the two hybrid facilities were expected to begin generating from 2025 onwards.

In its own statement, EDF Renewables indicated that financial close on Umoyilanga is expected to be achieved by the second half of October, with construction starting immediately thereafter so as to achieve commercial operations in May 2025.

The project, EDF Renewables added, would operate as a virtual power plant, combining generation from two sites which are 900 km apart. Avondale, in the Northern Cape, will include 115 MW of solar PV and 30 MW of battery storage, while Dassiesridge, in the Eastern Cape, will incorporate 63 MW of wind and 45 MW of battery storage.

To meet its 75 MW dispatchable profile, Dassiesridge will charge batteries from the wind energy at night and discharge power in the morning until the sun rises. The solar installation at Avondale will supply the bulk of the energy during the day, supplemented by wind energy from Dassiesridge. Excess solar energy will be used to charge the batteries at Avondale, which will discharge after sunset.

"This brings the total number of projects that have signed agreements under the RMIPPPP to five out of the 11 preferred bidders appointed, which will add a total of 353 MW of dispatchable capacity to the national grid.

"The first three RMIPPPP projects that signed agreements in June 2022 are currently in construction, and are set to reach commercial operation in November 2023," the department said in a statement, referring to the Scatec projects.

The department said the two additional projects would create 3 966 job-year opportunities during construction and operation and would contribute over R610-million over their 20-year lifetime to skills, supplier, enterprise and socioeconomic development initiatives.