Sasol says renewable energy drive makes economic sense (updated)

Sasol

21/02/2023 05:35

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      Coal-reliant firm signs 550MW renewable power deals
    

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      Wind, solar projects online by 2025
    

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      Sasol profit up 9% in mixed half year
    

  
 (Recasts with CEO)
    By Nelson Banya
       Feb 21 (Reuters) - Integrated energy and chemicals firm
Sasol Ltd  SOLJ.J  anticipates financial as well as
environmental benefits from its drive to use renewable energy
for its operations, chief executive officer Fleetwood Grobler
said on Tuesday.         
    The world's biggest producer of fuels and chemicals from
coal and gas, is working to cut its emissions by 30% by 2030.
    Sasol and French gas company Air Liquide  AIRP.PA , which
acquired Sasol’s oxygen production units in Secunda, launched a
partnership in 2021 to jointly procure 1,200 megwawatts of
renewable energy for their respective operations. 
    On Tuesday, the two companies announced a 260 megawatt wind
and solar power purchase agreement with TotalEnergies  TTEF.PA 
and the privately-owned South African renewable energy firm
Mulilo. 
    This adds to deals for 289MW of renewable power Sasol and
Air Liquide signed in January with Enel Green Power, a unit of
Italy-based Enel  ENEI.MI  and Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm.
    Grobler told Reuters in an interview that 550MW of renewable
energy projects that are expected to be operational by 2025
would account for around a third of Sasol's current electricity
consumption of 1,500MW.
    "It helps us on our decarbonisation journey. It also makes
business sense, when you look at the escalation of Eskom power
price increases and factor in what the renewable power purchase
agreements come out at, it becomes economically sensible to go
for renewable energy," Grobler said.
    Sasol reported a 9% profit jump in a half year it described
as mixed as higher oil prices offset the impact of weaker global
economic growth, higher costs, power cuts and poor rail
logistics.
    Sasol's core headline earnings per share - the company's
preferred measure of its operating performance - was 24.55 rand 
($1.36) in the six months to December 2022, compared to 22.52
rand in the corresponding six-month period a year earlier. 
    It said production volumes declined during the six months
due to lower productivity and poor coal quality from its mining
operations.
    Sasol declared an interim dividend of 7 rand per share.
    ($1 = 18.1094 rand)
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UPDATE 2-EU carbon hits record 100 euros as cost of polluting
soars - Reuters News     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N35133Z
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 (Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Kim Coghill, Tom Hogue
and Barbara Lewis)
 ((Nelson.Banya@thomsonreuters.com;))