Ramaphosa Commissions Seriti’s Ummbila 900MW Wind-Solar Hybrid Farm
On 31 July 2026, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa officially inaugurated the Ummbila Emoyeni Hybrid Wind-Solar Farm. Seriti Green designed the Ummbila Project with 750 MW of wind power and 150 MW of solar. Construction is ongoing and completion is expected by 2027, when the full 900 MW capacity will come online.
The cost of the Project is estimated at ZAR 25 billion. The funding originates from a blended equity and debt financing provided by Standard Bank and Rand Merchant Bank and is backed by the state utility Eskom.
On this day, the commissioning ceremony officially launched Phase One, which officially turned on 25 6.2-MW wind turbines with a total capacity of 155 MW. The wind turbines are built and supplied by Chinese firm Goldwind. China’s Ambassador WU Peng , Goldwind Deputy Chairman CAO Zhigang, and Seriti Green CEO Peter Venn were also present at the ceremony.
In his remarks, Ramaphosa referred to South Africa’s Just Energy Transition (#JET) and the Government’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (#SDG) without forgetting its huge coal endowment. During Phase One, Ummbila will produce nearly 500 GWh of energy, enough to power roughly 500,000 households. The use of renewable energy will avoid the emission of about 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (tCO2) annually.
During construction, the Ummbila project will sustain 1,200 jobs and the number is expected to rise to 2,000 as other phases get under way. It is worth noting the company aims to have half of the workforce as women to maintain gender equality. The Project also incorporates an 800-MWh energy storage system (#ESS).
Seriti has a Wheeling Agreement with Eskom, South Africa’s national utility company. Under the Wheeling Agreement, Eskom will charge a ‘toll feed’ to allow access to its grid to transport the energy to offtakers.
75% of the electricity produced is destined for Seritis’s own mining operations, thus significantly reducing its carbon footprint. The remaining energy will be split with offtakers: Etana Energy and Energy Exchange NOA.