On Monday, renewable energy development company SunEdison was awarded an additional five solar photovoltaic power projects in South Africa under round 4.5 of the Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

The five projects will be located in the North West Provinces and will have a total generation capacity of 371MW.

Round 4.5 of REIPPPP

Round 4.5 is an extension of round four which announced 13 preferred bidders in early April 2015. According to the South African energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, window 4.5 was driven by the overwhelming interest received during the first round of window four.

In the previous round of window four, SunEdison was awarded preferred bidder status for an 86MW solar power project, bringing their total capacity to 457MW over six power projects under the REIPPP programme.

The South African-based energy company claims that the five solar power plants will produce enough power to electrify an estimated 200,000 homes across the country.

Power Purchase agreement

The state-owned power utility Eskom will purchase the generated solar power through a 20-year power purchase agreement.

SunEdison president for Asia Pacific, Pashupathy Gopalan said: "We selected project sites that strengthen the Eskom grid and distribute project benefits across a range of communities. […] the five projects awarded will offer local enterprise development, skills development and procurement programmes."