Iron-ore miner Kumba Iron Ore's Sishen Iron Ore Company (SIOC) has entered into an energy offtake agreement with Envusa Energy – a joint venture between Kumba's parent company Anglo American and EDF power solutions – for the embedded on-site supply of electricity to the Sishen mine, in the Northern Cape, from the Sishen solar PV plant.
The project entails the development of a solar PV facility located atop the already built G80 waste rock dump within the Sishen mine boundary. The first electrons from the project are expected to flow in the fourth quarter of 2027.
The solar PV facility has been sized to deliver the highest cost savings and is designed with an installed capacity of 72.5 MW direct current, supplying 63 MW alternating current. This will increase Kumba’s total renewable-energy penetration to about 45%, including the 11 MW of wheeled renewable energy supplied to the Kolomela mine through Envusa’s Koruson 2 cluster.
Kumba states that the solar project is the first embedded renewable-energy project to reach this stage under the Envusa Energy programme. This milestone follows the successful delivery of Envusa’s Koruson 2 cluster, spanning the Eastern and Northern Cape provinces, which comprises three utility‑scale projects – the 240 MW MooiPlaats solar PV, the 140 MW Umsobomvu wind and the 140 MW Hartebeesthoek wind projects.
