Enel Green Power (EGP, Rome, Italy) has begun construction of the Pulida solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, which is located in the Free State Province in South Africa.
The PV project will have a total installed capacity of 82.5 MW and once fully operational will be able to generate more than 150 GWh of solar power annually, equivalent to the annual consumption needs of around 48,000 South African households.
Solar power generated by Pulida will be sold to the South African utility Eskom through the 20-year power supply agreement that EGP was awarded in October 2013 as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) promoted by the South African Government.
In addition to Pulida, EGP was awarded the right to build the Aurora (82.5 MW), Paleisheweul (82.5 MW) and Tom Burke (66 MW) solar power projects, in the same tender. The company, which already owns and manages the 10 MW Upington solar facility, was also recently awarded a further 425 MW of South African wind power projects in the fourth phase of the REIPPPP.