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On 11 December 2025, EDF Power Solutions announced the achievement of the commercial operation date (COD) of the 140 MW San Kraal wind farm, which forms part of the 420 MW Koruson 1 project cluster. 140 MW San Kraal wind farm advances Koruson 1 project T he San Kraal wind farm, located near Noupoort on the border of the Eastern and Northern Cape prov- inces, is the first of three 140 MW
the generated electricity. These turbines improve plant reliability and provide grid stability. The concrete turbine towers were manufactured at a local factory near Middelburg, which employed 400 workers during construction. The main contractors are Goldwind, which supplied and installed the 26 wind turbines, and the Consortium of Concor and OptiPower (Murray Roberts Ltd), which provided the balance of plant. Tristan de Drouas, EDF Power Solutions Southern Africa Vice President, comment- ed: “We are gearing up for commercial operation on Koruson 1. The projects sup- port the achievement of the South African Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2025). The plan maps out the future of the country’s electricity mix, with a long-term goal of achieving a Net Zero Electricity sector by 2050, including the addition of 34 GW of new wind turbines.” EDF Power Solutions is currently con- structing 1.5 GW of low-carbon energy across 12 different sites in the country, which contributes significantly towards this goal. The San Kraal WEF alone will generate 616 GWh per year, equivalent to powering 193 000 homes. “The Koruson 1 consortium, demon- strates the power of partnership in driving South Africa’s energy transition. This proj- ect not only delivers clean, reliable power to the grid but also creates meaningful
wind farms in the Koruson 1 cluster to reach COD. The remaining sites, Phezukomoya and Coleskop, are also in the final stages of completion, and the overall project is expected to achieve COD early in 2026. The Koruson 1 project includes South Africa’s largest self-build Main Transmission Substation (MTS), by an Independent Power Producer (IPP), which was completed and energised on 5 April 2025. The Koruson 400/132 kV MTS was designed and con- structed to connect 1.5 GW of renewable energy from the adjoining Koruson 1 and Koruson 2 projects to the national grid. Developed by a consortium led by EDF Power Solutions, together with local South African BEE partners, H1 Holdings, Gibb-Crede, and a local community trust, the Koruson 1 project was awarded under Round 5 of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP). The consortium has entered into a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the designated offtaker. The 26 San Kraal wind turbines have a nominal capacity of 5.4 MW each. They are synchronous turbines that use a generator in which the rotor's rotational speed is di- rectly synchronised with the frequency of EDF Power Solutions’ Umoyilanga Hybrid project successfully reached Provisional Commercial Operations Date (Provisional COD) with its Dassiesridge Plant in the Eastern Cape, on Friday, 5 December 2025. The Umoyilanga project combines solar, wind, and battery storage tech- nologies (BESS) to deliver dispatchable, reliable power to the national electri- cal grid, up to a Contracted Capacity of 75 MW. Once fully complete, this innovative project will operate as a vir- tual power plant, combining generation from two sites, which are 900 km apart, namely Avondale in the Northern Cape, with 115 MW of solar PV and 30 MW of battery storage, and Dassiesridge in the Eastern Cape, with 63 MW of wind
Agreement (PPA) signed with NTCSA, the Dassiesridge facility will now start delivering a Net Dependable Capacity of 55 MW to the grid. This Provisional Period will continue until Umoyilanga reaches full COD, upon the commissioning of the Avondale Plant. Following full COD, local commu- nities and enterprises surrounding the facilities will benefit from an investment of over R200 million, committed by the project towards supplier, skills, enter- prise and socio-economic development initiatives over the 20-year operating period. “Our focus now shifts fully to optimis- ing dispatched energy with Dassiesridge, and resolving outstanding issues at Avondale, to achieve full COD as early as possible in 2026,” said Gregoire de Montgolfier, Umoyilanga Project Director. opportunities for local communities and businesses. We are committed to ensuring that the benefits of renewable energy de- velopment are shared widely, supporting economic growth and empowerment in the regions where we operate,” said Reyburn Hendricks, CEO of H1 Holdings. “The successful completion of the San Kraal wind farm is a testament to the dedi- cation and expertise of all the partners involved. Beyond the contribution of the Koruson 1 cluster of projects to South Africa’s economic recovery plan and our climate change goals, we are particularly proud of the project’s contribution to lo- cal content and job creation,” said Richard Vries, Chairman of Gibb-Crede. https://southafrica.edf- powersolutions.com The San Kraal wind farm, located near Noupoort on the border of the Eastern and Northern Cape provinces, is the first of three 140 MW wind farms in the Koruson 1 cluster to reach COD.
Hybrid BESS and Solar Plant reaches provisional COD and 45 MW of battery storage. The low-carbon electricity produced will help meet the electricity needs of 120 000 households for 20 years, based on Eskom's residential consumption aver- age of 3 319 kWh/household.
The construction phase of Dassiesridge was completed over two years, thanks to the mobilisation of local workers for close to a million person- hours. This milestone was achieved in partnership with key contractors Power Construction and Adenco (balance of plant), and Vestas (wind turbines). Furthermore, the project has success- fully fulfilled its Economic Development commitments, specifically regarding local content and local procurement. Under the terms of the Power Purchase
40 ¦ MechChem Africa • January-February 2025
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