Mulilo Renewable Project Development (Mulilo), in partnership with EDF International, announced the first of three Battery Energy Storage (BESS) projects, to reach Commercial Close, this month, in October 2024.
Three of the first five BESS projects awarded under the BESIPPPP program to support the national grid, are the Oasis Mookodi BESS Project, the Oasis Aggeneis and Oasis Nieuwehoop, are three of Mulilo’s projects.
All three projects are scheduled for Financial Close and commencement of construction in November 2024.
The three projects will reach their Commercial Operations Dates in October 2026.
Oasis Mookodi is a 77 MWAC /308 MWh BESS project in the Vryburg area, in the North-West Province.
It will increase Mulilo’s existing projects which consist of 6 operational sites, comprising 420 Megawatts (MW) of both wind and solar PV farms.
Once completed, the three projects will provide capacity of 257 MW/1,028 MWh, and will be located in the Northern Cape and North West Provinces, providing cost-effective and efficient storage to bolster the country’s electricity grid.
The projects will operate under a 15-year power purchase agreement with Eskom.
Speaking about this, Jan Fourie, Mulilo CEO, said it is a significant milestone to reach Commercial Close in the BESS space, including the signing of the Power Purchase Agreement and Implementation Agreement by the Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa, and project Sponsors.
“BESS projects like this are critical for South Africa’s electricity generation fleet to increase the country’s integration of variable renewable energy sources like solar and wind. BESS stabilises the grid by storing excess energy during low demand periods and releasing it during peak demand, effectively mitigating load shedding and enhancing grid reliability” said Fourie.
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