The PV plant will reportedly be built in 2022 by a consortium comprising independent power producer (IPP) Pele Green Energy and renewable energy project developer EDF Renewables at Amplants’ Mogalakwena mine in Limpopo Province, South Africa.
Construction is slated to commence in the fourth quarter of next year, while operations are expected to start by the end of 2023. Amplants’ goal is to achieve carbon neutrality across all its operations by 2040.
CEO Natasha Viljoen added that they are excited about the prospect of eventually using solar energy to produce green hydrogen at Mogalakwena as part of a broader project to convert mine haul trucks to run on zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells.
“Not only will this reduce our environmental footprint, but these technologies rely on platinum group metals (PGMs), which are an essential component in proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and PEM hydrogen electrolysers. In turn, this could stimulate additional future demand for PCMs as both technologies roll out,” she said.
Recently, South Africa raised the threshold for distributed generation to 100MW. Consequently, large-scale PV plants of up to 100 MW can now be built without requesting a license through a simplified procedure with the national regulator.
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