The first contract is with Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm for 69 megawatts (MW) of renewable power to Sasolburg — the first of several that Sasol intends to finalize in the coming months as it secures the supply required to produce green hydrogen.

The energy will be generated by Msenge wind farm near Bedford in the Eastern Cape province, enabling Sasol to use the green hydrogen within its operations to produce sustainable products such as ammonia or methanol, or for supplying to its customers for decarbonizing their own operations. 

Executive vice president of Sasol’s energy business, Priscillah Mabelane, said: “Sasol is undertaking renewables at scale while growing new value pools such as green hydrogen, ensuring competitive and sustainable returns. Sasol will progressively shift its feedstock away from coal and towards gas as a transitionary feedstock, and then towards green hydrogen and sustainable carbon over the longer term.”

A second contract has been signed with Enel Green Power for the supply of 220 MW of renewable power to Secunda, where Air Liquide operates the world’s largest oxygen plant. Air Liquide has also signed a separate power purchase agreement with Enel Green Power.

Under the terms of the agreements, Enel Green Power will create two local majority-owned wind projects, producing 220 MW of renewable electricity. The capacity is scheduled to be operational in 2025.

Sasol said the contracts are the first to be agreed following the launch of a Request for Proposal (RFP) process in April 2021 for procuring a total 900 MW of renewable energy. This, the Johannesburg-based group said, will significantly contribute to decarbonizing the Secunda site, and particularly to reducing the CO₂ emissions associated with oxygen production by 30-40% by 2031.

Air Liquide and Sasol are negotiating with the remaining preferred bidders to the RFP to procure the remainder of the renewable energy requested within the coming months.

Mabelane said the agreements are another step toward Sasol’s aim to procure 1,200 MW of renewable energy capacity from independent power producers by 2030, “representing one of the largest renewable energy procurement programs from the private sector in South Africa.”

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist