Our Energy in the Heart of South Africa

About a twenty-minute drive from Jacobsdal, a small rural village in the province of Free State in South Africa, you can find our Pulida plant. Recently, its “colleague” Adams, located nearby in the province of Northern Cape, began operation at the same time. Together, they are now able to produce 318 GWh a year, which will meet the energy needs of about 100,000 South African families. “The Pulida plant is located in a vast and isolated area, which has always been home to a few farms and several animal breeders”, explains the site manager, Sandro Pesci. “We are near the Kalahari Desert, a complex environment, but which is certainly very appropriate for hosting a solar plant”. At Work with South Africa When a construction site is opened, African legislation requires that most of the workforce come from local communities, so that each new project can foster the social and economic development of the country. "About 800 people participated in the construction of Pulida, including 600 from the small town of Jacobsdal." “For many of them, it was their first job ever, despite being older adults,” added Pesci, “and they were thrilled to take part in the project. Every person employed at the worksite for Pulida was trained and prepped in line with Enel Green Power standards on safety, respect for the environment and sustainability”. This training that turned out to be adequate, since the plant attained a record number of a million and a half hours without any accidents. “Our dialogue with the local community was rewarding. Visiting the worksite, the enthusiasm was palpable, shining from the faces of those that came to be part of our team. It was a fantastic experience. There were moments when I needed to speak to all the workers for certain announcements, and my message was translated into various dialects of the South African communities, which was fascinating”. Mission Accomplished (early) The works were completed earlier than expected. Even though the activities at the worksite started a few weeks late, the Pulida solar field officially came into operation on 6 February. It had already reached so-called “early operation” on 14 December. "The plant began producing energy 43 days earlier than its expected Commercial Operation Date (COD)." Sandro Pesci The Pulida plant now joins the other sites that Enel Green Power South Africa owns and operates in the country: the three photovoltaic plants of Paleisheuwel (82.5 MW), Tom Burke (66 MW) and Upington (10 MW), as well as the 88-MW Nojoli wind farm in Eastern Cape, where another wind plant, the 111-MW Gibson Bay, is under construction.

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Our Energy in the Heart of South Africa

Our Energy in the Heart of South Africa