Precious metals producer Sibanye-Stillwater says its 89-megawatt Castle wind farm, located near De Aar in the Northern Cape, has achieved commercial operation.
The farm, which the company said was the largest private-offtake wind farm in SA, is expected to supply 309 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy a year.
This would reduce the miner’s carbon emissions by 321,000 tonnes a year, the company said on Tuesday.
The farm was funded through a 15-year build, own, operate and transfer power purchase agreement.
The project was developed through a consortium led by African Clean Energy Developments, with African Infrastructure Investment Managers’ Ideas Fund and Reatile Renewables as shareholders. Finance was arranged by Rand Merchant Bank.
The wind farm is one of four renewable energy projects undertaken by Sibanye-Stillwater’s SA operations, with a combined capacity of 407MW.
Of this, 267MW is expected to be operational this year.
Rising electricity costs — among the highest globally for comparable mining jurisdictions — and the unreliability of Eskom’s ageing fleet have prompted mining companies to explore renewable energy as a means to ensure reliable and cost-effective power while reducing their environmental impact.
Sibanye-Stillwater is not alone in its endeavours. Anglo American Platinum is constructing a 100MW solar PV plant at its Mogalakwena mine in Limpopo.
Others include Gold Fields, Harmony Gold, Impala Platinum and Seriti Green, a subsidiary of coal producer Seriti.
While renewable energy offers benefits, challenges remain. These include skills shortages, lack of transparency around mineral rights — which affects land access for projects — and limitations on storage solutions needed for consistent power supply.
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