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Commissioning begins at South Deep's 50MW solar plant - Green Building Africa

• The R715-million, 50 MW South Deep Khanyisa solar plant will be commissioned in the third quarter of this year, says Gold Fields CEO Chris Griffith.
• The plant is expected to generate 24% of South Deep's yearly electricity consumption.

Speaking at the African Mining Indaba 2022 on Monday, Griffith noted that the gold miner had received approval to raise the capacity of the plant to 60 MW, adding that the company was also examining wind power.

The plant should generate R123-million in electricity savings and 109 kt net emission reductions a year, aiding greatly in Gold Fields' chase to meet its environmental, social and governance targets. The solar plant is set to generate 12 permanent jobs.

Also at the event, Gold Fields VP South Africa Martin Preece added that that the plant will generate power at about 8.5% of our grid cost and the capital cost is R14 300 a kilowatt. "We start commissioning in August and we'll be up and running during the third quarter of this year. All the solar panels are on site and we have only 8% of spend left on the project," he said.

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