GHG Emissions, Sourcing Renewables, Wind  -  June 7, 2024

Richards Bay Minerals Adopts 140 MW of Wind Power

Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) signed a renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) to secure 140 MW of wind energy from a new wind farm situated in the Western and Northern Cape Province. 

The agreement was signed with Khangela Emoyeni Wind Farm (Pty) Ltd, and the project is expected to lower RBM’s annual carbon emissions by 20%.

Parties to the 20-year PPA include African Clean Energy Developments (Pty) Ltd (ACED), The IDEAS Fund (managed by African Infrastructure Investment Managers), investment holding company Reatile Group, and Rand Merchant Bank. EIMS Africa will be responsible for asset management for the project.

The Khangela Emoyeni Wind Farm is expected to produce approximately 460 GWh of renewable energy annually and, through a wheeling agreement with Eskom, will help power RBM’s operations located in Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal. 

The project has an export capacity of 140 MW and is expected to reach commercial operation within 28 months.

“As a world leading mineral sands operation, we are determined to find better ways to produce the materials the world needs and decarbonizing our operations is one of them,” said Werner Duvenhage, Managing Director Richards Bay Minerals and Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium African Operations, in a statement. “Rio Tinto has committed to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050. The Khangela Emoyeni Wind Farm has the potential to reduce RBM’s annual carbon emissions by 20% and reduce our existing reliance on traditional energy sources by 26%.”

In 2022, RBM signed a similar agreement for the Bolobedu Solar PV plant in Limpopo with Voltalia. The Bolobedu solar PV project is currently in progress and is anticipated to meet 17% of RBM’s power consumption by generating up to 300 GWh of renewable energy per annum.

The Khangela Emoyeni Wind and Bolobedu Solar projects will supply approximately 42% of RBM’s existing energy needs.

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