Diamond producer Petra Diamonds has entered into long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for the procurement of wheeled renewable energy for its Cullinan and Finsch diamond mines from licensed South African energy trader Etana Energy.

Etana provides cost-competitive clean energy from new large-scale renewable energy projects, mostly wind-based, through wheeling over the existing South African grid. The company has a portfolio of multiple ready-to-build and grid-secured wind and solar projects that are expected to come online over the course of 2025 and 2026.

Under the terms of the PPAs, Etana will supply each of the two operations with between 36% and 72% of the expected load requirement from the 2026 financial year onwards.

This development will enable Petra to fulfil its target of reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 35% to 40% against its 2019 baseline well ahead of the 2030 goal.

In addition to reducing the company’s carbon footprint, the portion of the energy sourced from Etana will also contribute to predictable energy costs and cost savings over the term of the PPAs.

“This will result in a considerable reduction of our GHG emissions, well ahead of our 2030 target, and will further strengthen the sustainability credentials of our diamonds. We consider this to be an important facet, alongside the traceability and provenance of our diamonds, in differentiating Petra’s product offering.

“The tariff secured is expected to lead to sustained reduction in our energy supply costs, which will further reduce fixed costs at our South African operations,” Petra CEO Richard Duffy said on May 23.

He added that the company remained committed to generating zero emissions on a net basis for Scope 1 and 2 by 2050, but it was hoping to achieve this as early as 2040.

“These agreements with Etana also demonstrate how Petra creates shared value through partnerships and we look forward to embarking on this long-term collaboration with them,” Petra noted.

“This represents a key step towards fulfilling our mission of accelerating the rollout of new renewable-energy capacity in South Africa in a way that creates value for our customers and has a positive impact on the country and our planet,” Etana director Reyburn Hendricks said.