Multinational renewables firm Enel Green Power signed two long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with industrial gases and services supplier Air Liquide and South African integrated energy company Sasol to supply 220 MW of clean energy to Sasol’s Secunda synthetic fuel plant.
Sasol’s Secunda site is home to the largest oxygen production facility in the world, which is operated by Air Liquide. Two wind farms in the Eastern Cape Province – operated by Enel Green Power and with a combined generation capacity of over 800 GWh of energy per year– will supply the facility.
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“We are proud to partner with Sasol and Air Liquide on their sustainability journey,” stated Enel Green Power South Africa Country Manager, Manuele Battisti, adding, “The deal will significantly contribute to the decarbonization of the Secunda site, reducing CO2 emissions that arise from the oxygen production process by between 30% and 40% by 2031.”
The PPAs come as a result of an April 2021 joint Request for Proposal process between Air Liquide and Sasol, under which an agreement was made to purchase 900 MW of renewable energy, serving as the largest corporate procurement of renewable energy for its operations in South Africa.
“In addition to meeting sustainability goals, purchasing energy through an independent power purchase allows for greater financial planning through tariff viability and a reduction of the continuous operational risks associated with conventional energy cost fluctuations and increases that are solely based on the consumer price index,” noted Battisti.
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Through its subsidiary, Enel Green Power South Africa, the renewable energy corporation currently operates over 1.2 GW of renewable energy capacity through 12 sites throughout the country, demonstrating its commitment to assisting South Africa meet its renewable energy targets of 17.7 GW of wind and 8.2 GW of solar photovoltaic energy by 2030.
