ENGIE has finalised an agreement to acquire a 40 per cent equity stake from Abengoa in Xina Solar One, which is a concentrated solar project (CSP) with a capacity of 100 MW. ENGIE has also acquired a share of 46 per cent of the operations and maintenance company. The plant is located in the Northern Cape of South Africa, where ENGIE’s 100 MW Kathu CSP is also located.
The power generated by the plant is procured through long term power purchase agreement for a period of 20 years with Eskom, which is a South African public utility. Xina Solar One utilises the parabolic trough technology and a molten salt storage system which allows for 5.5 hours of energy storage. The stored energy helps provide reliable electricity during peak demand. The project supplies electricity to more than 95,000 households in South Africa. It also saves about 348,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
In South Africa, ENGIE has interests in a CSP plant, Kathu, with a capacity of 100 MW Kathu, a wind farm Aurora with a capacity of 94 MW, and two solar photovoltaic plants with a cumulative capacity of 21 MW.
Recently, Engie entered into a partnership with International Bio Fuels Marketing (IBFM) for the development of four wood pellet plants in Asia with construction starting this year. The joint venture begin construction of the first plant in Vietnam in September. Work on a second plant is scheduled to begin in early 2022 and the development of two additional plants in Malaysia will begin later next year.
