Tharisa signs MoU for 40MW solar plant

Chrome and platinum group metals (PGMs) miner Tharisa has inked a comprehensive agreement to get electricity from a 40MW solar plant as part of its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050.

Energy groups Total Eren and Chariot will develop, finance, construct, own, operate and maintain a solar photovoltaic project for the supply of electricity to the Tharisa Mine, the group said on Friday. This is expected to adequately cover its current needs.

Tharisa, which operates a single mine near Brits in the North West, has joined a growing list of companies that have committed to reducing their carbon footprint, an issue of increasing concern for investors and financiers reluctant to back polluting industries.

The group had signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding with the energy groups, which is a precursor to the signing of a long-term power purchase agreement on a take-or-pay basis. This refers to a contract where the buyer is obligated to buy what is supplied, or pay a penalty if it does not.

“Tharisa plays a significant part in the global energy transition movement, and we are committed to producing these key metals in a sustainable manner,” Tharisa head of ESG Tebogo Matsimela said in a statement.

“Projects such as this solar development, are achievable with the commitment from our company as well as the commitment from our partners in this venture,” he said.

“We challenge all our business partners to implement initiatives that will ensure that we will make our planet a better one for all while providing sustainable returns to our stakeholders, community, and shareholders.”

The Mineral Council of SA has said its members have reported plans for 3,900MW of renewable energy projects worth an estimated R60bn, which, if built, would relieve pressure on Eskom and go a long way towards meeting the industry’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Minerals Council member companies have increased the number of renewable energy projects and the result is a 146% jump in electricity generation from the planned 1,600MW the industry spoke about during 2020.

The licence-free concession for embedded generation of up to 100MW was a major factor in this increase and it is probably the government’s biggest structural reform in two decades, Council CEO Roger Baxter said in a statement in November.

Bloomberg has reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa was told by the Presidential Economic Advisory Council to cut bureaucracy and focus on fixing the country’s energy crisis if he wanted to revive the economy. 

Water, transport and port services must be “dramatically improved”, the company said in a briefing note submitted to Ramaphosa ahead of his state of the nation address next week and seen by Bloomberg.

Two additional bidding rounds for the provision of renewable energy should be held in 2022, it said, while efforts must be made to ensure the National Energy Regulator of SA doesn't stand in the way of private companies trying to build their own capacity.

Update: February 4 2022
This article has been updated with additional information.

gernetzkyk@businesslive.co.za