South Africa’s Renergen has accused a solar energy project of “unauthorised construction” in a location where the natural gas producer holds a production right.
Renergen “expressed concerns” over the building of the Springbok Solar project “in an area designated for future natural gas extraction”, the company said in a statement issued via the JSE.
“In the case of Springbok Solar project, construction commenced without our prior consent or a co-existence agreement,” Renergen said, without naming the developer.
SOLA Group lists the 150MW Springbok project in Virginia in the Free State on its website as being under construction. The company wasn’t immediately able to comment.
The dispute highlights South Africa’s transition from dependence on coal to a wider range of technologies including natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy projects. The country is forecast to add 50GW of wind and solar stations by 2030 to replace some of the generation from the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel.
Renergen counts itself as contributing to the nation’s decarbonisation path with the production of natural gas that’s rich in helium, which is “essential in fabricating solar panels and wind turbines”, CEO Stefano Marani said in the statement.
Read: Namibia to build giant solar farm in its southern desert
Other solar facilities and battery energy storage system facilities are planned within Renergen’s production right area, the company said. — Paul Burkhardt, (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP
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