Tom Burke plant - a national key point for energy supply

Tom Burke – Enel Green Power South Africa (EGP RSA), held a dedication event today for its Tom Burke photovoltaic plant, which was declared a National Key Point by the South African Police Service, making it the first EGP RSA facility to be given this recognition. Tom Burke is also EGP RSA’s first large scale solar project.

“South Africa is a resource-rich country and we are proud to provide a strong renewable energy generation base”, said William Price, Head of EGP RSA. “By harnessing renewable energy sources we can improve electrification in Southern Africa and incorporate current and available technologies to bridge the gap between supply and demand for energy in a sustainable way”. 

 Located in South Africa’s Limpopo province, with an installed capacity of 66 MW, Tom Burke started operations in August 2016. The site was declared a National Key Point in line with South Africa’s National Key Point Act (1980) due to the important strategic role it plays by delivering energy to the national grid and supplying electricity to nine villages in the Lephalale region of Limpopo. 

 Tom Burke is situated on 202 hectares of land and can generate up to 122 GWh per year, equivalent to the annual consumption needs of around 38,000 South African households, while avoiding the emission of over 111,000 tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere each year.

Tom Burke is supported by a 20-year power supply agreement with the South African power utility Eskom, as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) tender promoted by the South African Government which awarded the project to the Enel Group.

EGP RSA first began operations in South Africa in 2014 and the company already has a significant presence in the local market, with more than 520 MW of wind and solar projects in operation. EGP RSA currently owns and operates five PV plants in South Africa: Paleisheuwel (82.5 MW), which is situated in the Western Cape province, Tom Burke (66 MW) in the Limpopo province; Upington (10 MW) and Adams (82.5MW) in the Northern Cape province; and Pulida (82.5MW) in the Free State province. The company also operates the 88 MW Nojoli and the 111 MW Gibson Bay wind farms in the Eastern Cape.