The first 25 turbines at Seriti Green’s Ummbila Emoyeni Wind Farm, which is rising in the coal heartland of Mpumalanga within site of the giant Secunda coal-to-liquids complex and in close proximity to three Eskom power stations, have officially entered commercial operation.
The milestone was commemorated at a ceremony presided over by President Cyril Ramaphosa on July 31, and represents the first 155 MW phase of a planned 900 MW renewable energy roll-out by Seriti Green in the province, with construction on the first project having begun in April 2023.
Seriti Resources CEO Mike Teke, who is also Seriti Green’s chairperson, rejected the notion that the renewables investment represents “green washing” by a company built on coal mining, and whose mines are one of the anchor customers for the electricity arising from the wind farm.
Power purchase agreements (PPAs), he noted, had also been signed with energy traders Energy Exchange, NOA and most recently Etana Energy, which initialled a PPA at the ceremony.
Instead, Teke reiterated his stance that the investment signified the group’s goal of being an “energy company” that would invest in wind, solar and battery energy storage, while continuing to produce coal, including from its new Naudesbank Colliery which had a 20-year life-of-mine.
