Anglo American and EDF Renewables have formed a plan to create a new joint owned renewable energy company, Envusa Energy, in South Africa.
Anglo American and EDF signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in March.
Envusa will have a pipeline of more than 600 MW of wind and solar projects in South Africa. It has the aim of reaching 3-5 GW by 2030. The first phase is expected to be fully funded, with the companies saying they expect to sign up debt financing.
It will begin construction in 2023, the companies said.
Anglo American chair in South Africa Nolitha Fakude welcomed the deal with EDF. “This is a significant milestone in Anglo American’s global decarbonisation journey and another step forwards for South Africa’s clean energy future.”
The company has a target of carbon neutral operations by 2040.
“We believe that the energy transition presents a fresh opportunity for South Africa and the rest of the region to build a clean and inclusive energy ecosystem that can create significant new economic opportunities,” Fakude said.
Envusa will supply renewable energy to Anglo American, from onsite installations and via the national grid.
On the rise
EDF Renewables in South Africa CEO Tristan de Drouas said the deal confirmed the company’s long-term plans for South Africa.
“This 600 MW first tranche of projects will be added to the almost 1 GW that EDF Renewables will be building or operating in the country by 2023 – including 420 MW of wind projects in REIPPP Bid Window 5, whose PPAs were signed with Eskom and the DMRE on 22 September 2022,” de Drouas said.
These plans advance EDF Group’s CAP 2030 strategy, he said. This “aims to double our net renewable installed energy capacity worldwide (hydropower included) from 28 GW in 2015 to 60 GW by 2030”.
Anglo American can also use power from Envusa to produce green hydrogen. It uses this as fuel for its nuGen mine haul trucks.
The companies will begin looking for a black economic empowerment (BEE) partner for Envusa in the fourth quarter.
Envusa will also work on a community partnership model. This intends to share benefits along the value chain.
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