Impala Platinum Holdings Limited (Implats) has signed a five-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Discovery Green to supply wheeled renewable energy to its Impala Refineries operation, in South Africa.

The strategic renewable electricity contract will reduce Impala Refineries’ Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 852,000 t CO2e over the initial five-year period of the PPA, while yielding cost savings, the company says.

Implats energy strategy seeks to strengthen the security of electricity supply in South Africa, reduce GHG emissions and long-term input costs, by integrating renewable electricity into its electricity supply options. One of its initiatives involves procuring renewable solar and wind electricity from energy aggregators via the South African national grid – the concept known as “wheeling”. This PPA represents the first phase of the group’s aggregator wheeling program and will supply 90% of Impala Refineries’ electricity needs from 2026 – starting with the delivery of over 130,000 MWh/y of wheeled energy.

Patrick Morutlwa, Implats Group Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are delighted to conclude this wheeling agreement, which meaningfully accelerates our decarbonisation journey. From 2026, the PPA will reduce our Scope 2 GHG emissions by 170,484 t/y of CO2e and advance our goal of achieving a 30% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, off 2019 as our baseline year. Climate change is a global challenge. Businesses must reduce GHG emissions across the value chain and to build operational resilience. This agreement aligns with our decarbonisation and energy security strategy to adopt renewable and low-carbon energy sources and contributes to achieving several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.”

Implats Chief Executive Officer, Nico Muller said: “In a cyclical commodities price environment, agreements such as this PPA are a significant lever in our ability to control input costs to ensure long-term business sustainability. I commend our sustainable development team and our new partners for concluding this agreement after a competitive bidding process. This work builds on and complements our significant renewable energy project pipeline, which includes a completed 35 MW solar plant at Zimplats – the first phase in a 185 MW solar build at the operation. By the end of financial year 2024, renewable electricity accounted for 37% of our total electricity consumption, up from 30% in the prior year, with market instruments accounting for 53% of our electricity mix. This marked a historic crossover point for Implats.”