IBERDROLA Ingeniería Lands a Contract for the Construction of a 96-MW Photovoltaic Plant in South Africa for $150 Million

- The contract has been awarded by Jasper Power Company within a project led by the American company Solar Reserve
- The Company will carry out this project, which will be named Jasper PV photovoltaic plant, in consortium with the South African company GROUP FIVE
- The agreement includes the development of the plant, the transformer substation and the feeder lines, as well as its operation and maintenance over the next 15 years
- With this new contract, IBERDROLA INGENIERÍA emphasizes its commitment to South Africa, where this year it has already been awarded the construction of two wind farms

The consortium formed by IBERDROLA INGENIERÍA and the South African company GROUP FIVE has been selected by Jasper Power Company for the construction of a 96-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic plant in South Africa.

The contract, which was signed today in Johannesburg, is worth around 150 million dollars and includes the engineering, equipment supply, civil engineering work, assembly and start-up of this renewable energy facility.

In addition, under the terms of the agreement the consortium will be in charge of developing the transformer substation that will feed the plant’s energy and a 132-kilovolt (KV) overhead power line that will connect the infrastructure to the national grid. Lastly, both companies will also be responsible for the plant’s operation and maintenance for the next 15 years.

The photovoltaic plant, which will be named Jasper PV, is part of a project led by the American company Solar Reserve. It will be located near the city of Postmasburg, in the Northern Cape province, and will have over 325,000 polycrystalline modules spread across some 180 hectares.

This project is also part of Round 2 of the Renewable IPP Programme of South Africa’s Energy Department, which has assigned the construction of eight photovoltaic plants and seven wind farms.

The Renewable Energy IPP Programme is an ambitious project that will launch a bidding process for a total capacity of 3,725 MW through five rounds. The South African government recently announced its intention to launch a new renewable energy programme once the current one has been completed, in order to add another 3,200 MW of clean generation to the grid before 2020. Because of these targets, South Africa has become one of the countries with the greatest potential in the renewable energy sector.

Strengthens its position in South Africa

This contract consolidates IBERDROLA INGENIERÍA as the most international company in its industry, present in more than 30 countries. It also reinforces the company’s presence in South Africa, a country that has become strategic in recent years and where the construction of two wind farms was awarded this year.

These two facilities, named Noblesfontein and Klipheuwel, together boast a capacity of 101 MW and are located in the southwest of the country, in the state of Western Cape, near Cape City. Both wind farms will also be developed in consortium with GROUP FIVE, one of the largest South African construction companies, which is present throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Headquartered in Erandio, Vizcaya, IBERDROLA INGENIERÍA specialises in turnkey projects for other IBERDROLA Group companies and for third parties in the generation, nuclear, grid and renewable energy fields.

It applies a high degree of innovation to all of its projects and thanks to its technological capabilities, the Company is also one of the benchmark firms in the global engineering sector, with the capacity to compete on the international markets.