JSE-listed ELB’s Engineering subsidiary, together with its project partner, KC Cottrell, has received notice to proceed with the building of a 25 MW biomass power plant for Ngodwana Energy, following the successful bid in terms of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.
ELB Engineering, together with KC Cottrell, will design, procure, build and commission a wood-chip biomass power plant at Sappi’s Ngodwana Mill, in Mpumalanga.
The project will use biomass recovered from surrounding plantations and screened waste material from the mill production process.
The power plant will burn up to 35 t/h of biomass in a boiler to generate steam and drive a turbine to generate electricity, which will be fed into the grid.
More than 2 500 work months of employment will be created during the project phase, while the biomass recovery process lends itself to sustainable job creation and skills development over the life of the plant.
The project, which is expected to take a 27 months to complete, will also make a meaningful contribution to the economy in view of the significant level of local procurement required.