Planned to be built 50km west of Mbombela in the Mpumalanga Province on the Sappi Ngodwana Mill Site, South Africa, the 25MW biomass project will feed electricity into the national grid near its location within Elands Valley, between Emgwenya and Mbombela. Biomass for the project will be supplied from local plantations.
Sappi Southern Africa will partner with KC Africa and Fusion Energy for the development of the project.
Sappi Southern Africa CEO Alex Thiel said: "Sappi will continue to focus on extracting maximum value from the renewable and sustainable wood fibre that we grow.
"This project builds on our earlier R3 billion investment at Ngodwana Mill and further strengthens our presence in Mpumalanga province."
The project is expected to contribute to the growth and development objectives of the National Government, Mpumalanga province, the communities and businesses in the vicinity as well as Eskom and the citizens of South Africa.
KC Africa president Ki Kyeong Kim said: "It is an honour to be able to jointly cooperate and develop with Sappi and Fusion on such an important project and to be able to contribute to the building of sustainable renewable energy in South Africa.
"We wish to show Africa what Korean industry can contribute to this great Continent and together with JSC’s Creative Power Division collaborating with KC Cottrell on the technology side, this project will further enhance confidence."
