Licensed electricity trader Discovery Green, the energy platform of Discovery Group, continues to advance two of South Africa’s largest private-sector renewable-energy developments, marking a significant milestone in the scaling of utility-level clean power for corporate offtakers.

The projects, which achieved financial close this year, include the 150 MW Overberg Wind Farm, in the Western Cape, and the 300 MW Tournee Solar Park, in Mpumalanga. They represent the first phase of a broader procurement programme intended to strengthen private-sector participation in creating new generation capacity, thereby supporting national decarbonisation objectives.

The two major utility-scale projects have progressed alongside private-sector demand for dedicated renewables offtake, underscoring the growing role of corporate buyers in driving new-build infrastructure.

The Overberg facility, forms part of what will be the largest wind energy development built in South Africa to date.

Developed by independent power producer (IPP) Red Rocket, the project comprises 24 turbines, several of which have a 7 MW output rating, thereby placing them among the highest-capacity units installed locally. With an investment value of about R5-billion, the wind farm is expected to reach commercial operation within 18 to 20 months.

The Tournee Solar Park, also developed by Red Rocket and valued at a similar investment scale, reached financial close in September 2025. Designed at 300 MW, the installation will rank among the largest solar facilities in South Africa once commissioned towards the end of 2027.

Discovery Green will serve as the long-term offtaker for both assets under 20- to 25- year arrangements, providing the revenue certainty needed for large-scale project financing.

Discovery Green executive director and actuarial research and development head Dan Ginsberg notes that the platform was initially conceived to meet Discovery’s in-house decarbonisation requirements, but its scope expanded rapidly as the company assessed broader national and commercial needs.

“Decarbonising electricity use, which accounts for more than 90% of emissions in many private-sector firms, presented a far larger opportunity to support the wider economy.”

The scale and financing structure of the projects distinguish the platform’s approach. Together, the wind and solar plants introduce about R10-billion in project finance into the domestic economy, underpinned by Discovery’s long-term guarantee to buy all energy generated for the duration of the contracts.

Ginsberg adds that substantial due diligence was required to align risk allocation between project sponsors, lenders and Discovery Green as the buyer. The financing structure had to account for long-term offtake guarantees, plant performance expectations and lender protections.

Actuarial Model

A core differentiator of Discovery Green’s model is the application of actuarial science to manage intermittency, volume variability and demand volatility.

The platform intermediates between the wholesale characteristics of renewable generation and the retail-level requirements of corporate consumers.

“From day one, we are able to provide about 90% renewable-energy coverage, which is significantly higher than typical private solutions. Actuarial science enables us to pool supply and demand-side risks across multiple plants and customers,” Ginsberg adds.

The platform aggregates energy from diverse generators, balancing fluctuating wind and irradiation conditions across geographically dispersed sites. Customers, in turn, contract for supply in flexible volumes and tenors that would be difficult to secure directly with IPPs.

Discovery Green manages excess generation, shortfalls and consumption variability through diversified portfolios and probabilistic modelling, thereby creating a structured, retail-facing product suitable for large and medium-sized enterprises.

Grid infrastructure constraints remain a material macro-level challenge and Ginsberg notes that insufficient transmission capacity, particularly in the Cape provinces, continues to limit new wind and solar builds.

He emphasises that the expansion of the transmission network is essential for sustained private-sector investment in new generation.

With its first projects now transitioning into the construction phase, Discovery Green is advancing an additional pipeline of renewable investments. 

The platform continues to prioritise geographical diversification, particularly for wind to reduce correlation risk, and technological diversification across wind and solar assets.