Construction has started on Lyra Energy’s inaugural 255 MW Thakadu solar PV plant, located on the border of South Africa’s Free State and North West provinces, after the R4-billion project reached financial close.

In February, Lyra Energy announced that it had entered into power purchase agreements with three private anchor offtakers for a large portion of the electricity to be produced by the Thakadu facility, which is Lyra’s flagship project.

The offtakers have not been identified, but have been described as being “top tier” industrial and commercial companies.

Head of Lyra Energy Eben de Vos says financial close is a “significant moment” for the venture, which is 50% owned by Scatec of Norway, and 50% by Standard Bank and Stanlib.

Thakadu, he adds, stands apart in a market where many other participants aggregate and resell power from third-party assets.

“Lyra Energy originates, finances, builds, owns and operates its projects, maintaining accountability across the full project lifecycle. This structure provides customers with direct alignment on performance, delivery timelines and long-term asset management.”

De Vos argues the model enables Lyra to focus on delivering physical assets that supply real electrons to the grid, rather than trading power.

The project will be built in two phases, with the second phase expected to start in the second half of 2026.

The first phase, meanwhile, is scheduled to enter into commercial operation in the first half of 2027.

The capital expenditure will be financed by a combination of non-recourse project debt and equity from the owners, with a target leverage of 80%. The senior lender is Standard Bank of South Africa.

Scatec says in a separate statement that it will be responsible for engineering, procurement and construction, asset management and operations and maintenance for the project.

“At a time when reliable supply remains critical to economic performance, projects like Thakadu demonstrate that privately contracted renewable energy can be delivered at scale,” De Vos says, adding that Thakadu will supply substantial clean energy capacity into the South African grid once fully operational.