South African companies are increasingly turning to renewable energy as they seek to lower electricity costs and reduce their environmental footprint.

York Timber Holdings, the JSE-listed forestry group and South Africa’s largest solid wood processor, has joined that shift with a new long-term agreement with Discovery Green.

The deal will see most of the power used at York Timber’s Jessievale sawmill sourced from renewable energy, helping the company improve cost certainty while supporting its sustainability goals.

The agreement also highlights growing demand among businesses for private energy solutions as companies look beyond traditional power sources.

Renewable energy to power key sawmill

Under the 10-year power purchase agreement, Discovery Green will convert 90 percent of the electricity used at York Timber’s Jessievale sawmill in Warburton, Mpumalanga, to renewable energy.

The facility, one of York Timber’s main processing plants, handles about 225,000 cubic meters of timber annually. The switch is expected to cut carbon emissions by thousands of tons each year while improving energy economics over the next decade.

Cost certainty and sustainability goals

Schalk Barnard, York Timber’s interim CEO, said Discovery Green worked closely with the company to develop a solution tailored to its needs.

“The solution provides long-term cost certainty at a time when energy costs remain a significant driver of our production costs and overall profitability,” Barnard said.

He added that the agreement will help York Timber meet internationally recognized standards, including Forest Stewardship Council certification requirements and the International Finance Corporation’s environmental and social performance standards.

According to Barnard, maintaining those standards helps preserve access to important markets, strengthen stakeholder confidence and support the company’s broader sustainability objectives.

Discovery Green expands customer base

York Timber joins more than 50 businesses using Discovery Green’s energy wheeling platform to meet their renewable energy targets. The company currently has more than 740 megawatts of generation capacity under development for customers.

Discovery Green head Andre Nepgen said the agreement shows how large forestry and agricultural businesses can modernize their energy procurement while improving both commercial performance and sustainability.

“It is encouraging to see a listed forestry company helping reshape the sector’s commercial and sustainability landscape,” Nepgen said.