Sibanye-Stillwater: Castle wind farm achieves commercial operation
Johannesbur: Sibanye-Stillwater advises that the 89 megawatt (MW) Castle wind farm (Castle), a facility dedicated to supplying renewable energy to Sibanye-Stillwater’s South African (SA) operations, has achieved commercial operation. This marks a significant milestone for the Group and for South Africa’s private renewable energy sector, with Castle being the largest private-offtake wind farm in operation in South Africa to date.
Located near De Aar in the Northern Cape, the project benefits from some of South Africa’s best wind resources and direct access to the main transmission corridor connecting the Cape provinces to the industrial north-east of South Africa. Third-party funding for the project was secured through a 15-year build, own, operate, and transfer Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Castle will supply the SA operations via a wheeling agreement with Eskom. Sibanye-Stillwater’s early market entry secured vital grid access, avoiding current capacity constraints that limit new wind project development.
Key project benefits include:
- Cost saving relative to prevailing Eskom utility rates, resulting in a significant cost saving for our SA operations
- Expected annual renewable energy supply of 309GWh (5.5% of Sibanye-Stillwater’s energy demand in South Africa)
- Reduction of 321,000t CO2e annually (5.0% of Group scope 1 and 2 emissions) and mitigation of future, indirect carbon tax liabilities
