Anglo American has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with EDF Renewables, a global leader in renewable energy, to work together towards developing a Regional Renewable Energy Ecosystem (RREE) in South Africa.
The ecosystem is expected to be designed to meet Anglo American’s operational electricity requirements in South Africa through the supply of 100% renewable electricity by 2030, thereby also supporting the resilience of the local electricity supply systems and the wider decarbonisation of energy in the country.
The RREE will draw on South Africa's natural renewable energy potential to develop a network of on-site and off-site solar and wind farms, amongst other opportunities, offering 24/7 renewable energy to Anglo American’s operations. Anglo American anticipates that a number of partners will provide equity financing for the RREE, in addition to the RREE attracting debt financing. The partnership is expected to bring a host of benefits to South Africa and the region, including:
- Implementing 3-5 GW of renewable electricity (solar and wind) and storage over the next decade, thereby increasing total grid supply resilience;
- supporting the decarbonisation initiatives of governments across Southern Africa; and
- stimulating the development of new economic sectors, local production and supply chains.