International renewable energy consultancy, SgurrEnergy, part of Wood Group, has supported two South African solar energy projects in achieving financial close.
The 10MW Aurora and Vredendal projects developed by SolaireDirect South Africa, are two of nine developments consented in round 2 of the South African Department of Energy’s (DOE) Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP).
SgurrEnergy was selected by equity provider, Old Mutual Investment Group, to provide a range of technical due diligence services during the projects’ development phase. Site visits, energy yield assessment, module factory inspections, system design, technology and grid connection reviews were carried out by SgurrEnergy’s expert solar, civil and electrical teams.
Sean Friend, infrastructure portfolio manager at Old Mutual said, “SgurrEnergy’s technical advisory work has been essential in progressing the Aurora and Vredendal solar projects to financial close. We’re pleased to have reached this significant milestone and we look forward to working closely with SgurrEnergy as the projects move into construction.”
Ben Lumby, solar team leader with SgurrEnergy, said “We are delighted to be working on the expanding portfolio of SolaireDirect projects in South Africa. We are experiencing a high demand for our solar capabilities in the country as its solar industry grows and have a number of exciting developments we are working on this year in the region.”
Construction of the Aurora and Vredendal PV plants is due to commence shortly. The plants will be constructed in the Western Cape and will use locally sourced solar modules, contributing to the growth of local employment within the area.
This recent achievement by SgurrEnergy in South Africa builds on its growing success in the country’s solar energy market. The company previously provided key technical advisory services to developer, Solar Reserve, to achieve financing for the REIPPP round 1, 75MW Letsasi and Lesedi solar plants, which will be amongst the first large-scale solar plants to be built in South Africa.
SgurrEnergy is a leading engineering consultancy specialising in worldwide renewable energy projects. Founded 10 years ago by technical director Ian Irvine and implementation director Steve McDonald, the company has assessed more than 85,000MW of renewable energy projects in over 50 countries around the world.
Headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, SgurrEnergy has international offices in China (Beijing), Canada (Vancouver), India (Pune), France (Paris), Ireland (Dublin), the US (Portland), Brazil (São Paulo), Norway (Stavanger) and Germany (Hamburg).
SgurrEnergy is a subsidiary business of Wood Group. www.sgurrenergy.com
Wood Group is an international energy services company with around $7bn sales, employing about 43,000 people worldwide and operating in 50 countries. The Group has three businesses – Wood Group Engineering, Wood Group PSN and Wood Group GTS – providing a range of engineering, production support, maintenance management and industrial gas turbine overhaul and repair services to the oil & gas, and power generation industries worldwide. www.woodgroup.com
More about Old Mutual’s infrastructure investments
Old Mutual Investment Group manages the Infrastructural, Developmental and Environmental Assets Managed Fund (IDEAS Managed Fund) and is South Africa’s largest domestic infrastructure equity investor with assets totalling approximately R3.5 billion. The fund holds a high quality, diversified portfolio of fixed investment assets, with a focus on infrastructure investments that make a significant contribution to economic growth and/or upliftment. The fund is participating in 12 of government’s renewable energy projects across wind, solar and hydro-generation – and total investment commitment of R1.5 billion.
