ACWA Power signs PPA with South African state for 442MW solar project

By Cameron Murray
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Project DAO will come online in Q2 2026. Image: ACWA Power

Saudi-based independent power producer (IPP) ACWA Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with government bodies in South Africa for a solar project 442MW solar PV project combined with a 1,200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).

ACWA announced the signing on an implementation agreement and a PPA for its Project DAO on Monday (18 December). The project is scheduled to come online in the second quarter of 2026.

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The announcement said the project will have ‘150MW of dispatchable power’, which may indicate either the terms of the PPA or the power rating of the BESS.

The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa, Gwede Mantashe, signed the implementation agreement while Segomoco Scheppers, senior general manager at transmission system operator (TSO) Eskom, signed the PPA.

Project DAO was declared as one of the preferred bidders in the Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Program (RMIPPPP) in 2021. Last week, the seventh bidding round of South Africa’s REIPPPP opened for interested parties.

South Africa’s Department for Mineral Resource and Energy (DMRE) formally opened the window on Thursday (14 December) with a request for proposal (RfP) seeking 1.8GW of solar PV capacity from independent power producers. The application process for the seventh round of the REIPPP is to remain open until 30 April 2024, however the last date for bidders to apply for a cost estimate letter has been set for 31 January 2024.

See the original version of the article on Energy-storage.news.

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