The Damlaagte PV Facility located near Parys in the Free State, has officially started commercial operations on Saturday, August 23, marking the start of a 20-year operational period for this 97.5 megawatt (MW) site.  Connecting to the Eskom grid it will provide approximately 270 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean electricity in its first year of operations.

The renewable energy from Damlaagte will be supplied to the Secunda site, where Air Liquide owns and operates the world’s largest oxygen production site, following its acquisition of the facility from Sasol in 2020.

This PPA is the first to come online from a joint initiative between Air Liquide and Sasol to procure a total of nearly 700 MW of renewable power for these operations. The program is a key enabler for both companies’ ambitious decarbonization roadmaps.

Damlaagte is owned by Mainstream Renewable Power (“Mainstream”), uBuzwe Energy (Pty) Ltd (“uBuzwe”) and the Thembelihle Trust.

”Damlaagte PV Facility coming on line marks yet another great accomplishment for us in our journey towards lower carbon intensity ” said Simon Baloyi, Sasol’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This year, we have achieved several milestones in renewable energy, including securing an additional 160MW bringing the total renewable energy secured in South Africa, to more than 900MW. We are well on track to meet our 2030 Renewable Energy target of up to 2 GW.”

According to Nicolas Poirot, CEO, Africa, Middle East & India (AMEI) for Air Liquide,  Damlaagte’s commercial operation is a major milestone for the decarbonization of their operations in Secunda. He described it as a crucial step toward their goal of reducing CO₂ emissions from their  Secunda operations by 30% to 40% by 2031, and a powerful demonstration their global commitment to decarbonization.

Damlaagte and its partners, Power China Maanda, LeadEPC, and Tractionel Holdings, utilised the services of local businesses where applicable and established a skills development programme that trained over 100 people.