York Timbers joins more than 50 companies that have selected Discovery Green’s energy wheeling platform to meet their renewable energy objectives. Discovery Green already has more than 740MW in generation under development for these customers.
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JSE-listed York Timber Holdings, the largest solid wood processor in South Africa, has reached a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Discovery Green, a renewable energy platform.
Under the agreement, Discovery Green will convert 90% of York Timber’s Jessievale sawmill’s energy usage into renewable energy, reducing its carbon emissions by thousands of tons of carbon dioxide each year. This will ultimately deliver better energy economics for the next 10 years.
The Jessievale Sawmill, located in Warburton, Mpumalanga, is one of York Timbers' primary processing facilities. It processes approximately 225,000 cubic metres of timber a year.
York Timbers joins more than 50 companies that have selected Discovery Green’s energy wheeling platform to meet their renewable energy objectives. Discovery Green already has more than 740MW in generation under development for these customers.
In March, Discovery Green also announced an offtake agreement with Anthem, a South African renewable energy investment holding business, which had reached financial close of its 1,500,000 MWh Notsi solar photovoltaic (PV) project, in the Free State, currently the largest project in South Africa of its ind, and which is expected to finish construction in 26 months.
Discovery Green, started by Discovery South Africa in September 2023, helps businesses transition to clean, affordable, and reliable power sourced from large-scale wind and solar plants.
The PPA supports greater cost efficiencies in York Timbers' operations and marks a big step in the company's ongoing journey to embed sustainability into its business while maximising environmental value, a statement said.
“It is heartening to see a listed forestry company take the lead in reshaping the commercial and sustainability landscape of the forestry sector,” said Discovery Green’s head, Andre Nepgen.
Schalk Barnard, interim CEO of York Timbers, said Discovery Green “worked closely with us to develop a solution that suited our needs.” Cost was a central driver in their decision.
“The solution provides long-term cost certainty at a time when energy costs remain a significant driver of our production costs and overall profitability,” said Barnard. The PPA will also have a positive impact on York Timbers’ regulatory compliance.
“As an integrated forestry company, we are committed to meeting internationally recognised standards, including Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification requirements and the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability,” said Barnard.
“These standards help us maintain access to key markets, strengthen stakeholder confidence, and support our sustainability objectives. Clean energy is an important component of that commitment.”
He said the impact of cost-effective production from renewable energy would translate into a meaningful return for our shareholders, while the resulting embedded sustainable practices would generate positive returns for the environment.
“This PPA is an example of how enterprise-scale agricultural and forestry players can modernise their energy procurement for commercial impact,” said Nepgen.
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