Renewable-energy company the SOLA Group's 195 MW Springbok solar power project, in Virginia, in the Free State, has achieved an early commercial operation date.

The multi-buyer, flexible energy project will provide large-scale private renewable-energy procurement, enabling a cross-section of South African corporate buyers to procure clean energy from a single source.

The power generated by the project will be wheeled across State-owned Eskom’s transmission network to serve multiple offtakers under long-term and short-term rolling power purchase agreements (PPAs).

The local and global offtakers include technology services company Amazon Web Services (AWS), which was the original anchor buyer; mining company Sibanye-Stillwater, which is the second anchor buyer and one of the largest offtakers on the project; chemicals and energy company Sasol; construction materials and industrial minerals company Afrimat; property developer Redefine; financial services firm Old Mutual; telecommunications services company Vodacom; mining company Rio Tinto; and meat products manufacturer BRM Brands, as well as other companies.

Further, the project also features South Africa’s first operational virtual wheeling PPA, with Vodacom leveraging the flexible model to source power for its operations, with the project thereby also setting a precedent for municipal-level energy procurement, SOLA Group says.

The project was built in a joint venture between SOLA Group and construction firm WBHO. The total private investment into the facility was more than R3-billion.

The 195 MW facility will generate more than 430 000 MWh/y of clean energy, which is enough to power about 150 000 South African households and offset about 399 000 t/y of CO₂ emissions.

Further, more than R375-million has been invested in nearby communities, which created employment opportunities for around 500 permanent and part-time workers.

SOLA intends to continue to support and fund local community initiatives in the area during the operational phase of the project, it says.

Additionally, SOLA Group is also advancing its next phase of utility-scale projects, which will introduce significant co-located battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity.

Specifically, the upcoming Naos 1 solar and storage project, in Viljoenskroon, in the Free State, and the Nyala solar and storage project in Welkom, also in the Free State, are set to deliver 770 MW of generation capacity coupled with large BESS configurations providing more than 1.5 GWh of dispatchable power.

These projects will be among the largest private solar and battery storage facilities in Africa, and will be designed to provide flexible, firm and dispatchable power, thereby addressing the need for a continuous, reliable power supply, the SOLA Group says.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s private generation sector is driving significant market activity. Current industry estimates show that private sector renewable energy capacity is expected to add about 6 GW of solar PV and 4 GW of wind power by 2030, which underscores the shift toward a diversified energy mix, it says.

The wheeling framework is central to this growth by allowing large-scale projects located in renewable-resources-rich areas with grid connection availability to supply power to customers nationwide.

The project engages multiple buyers on a flexible bilateral basis without the additional costs of a trading entity, and this model is necessary for accelerating the private sector’s energy transition and managing risk across the grid, the company says.

“By successfully integrating multiple buyers with diverse contracting needs, we are demonstrating that renewable energy can be delivered reliably, flexibly and at the necessary scale to support economic growth and decarbonisation goals,” says SOLA Group commercial MD Jonathan Skeen.

The Springbok project is the second of several of Sibanye-Stillwater’s renewable-energy projects in its 600 MW targeted portfolio to achieve commercial production and is a step towards its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040, says Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Richard Stewart.

“Private partnerships, such as this, are delivering real, tangible value to South Africa, while simultaneously securing the supply of sustainable, cost-effective renewable energy for our South African operations,” he says.

Additionally, as part of AWS's commitment to being net-zero carbon by 2040, the company is supporting innovative renewable-energy projects like Springbok Solar Power Project, says AWS country manager South Africa James Hickman.

“This collaboration advances our sustainability goals and also helps to pioneer new models for corporate renewable energy procurement in Africa. The multi-buyer approach demonstrates how cloud and sustainability can work together to create scalable solutions for businesses of all sizes,” he says.

Through the project with SOLA Group, Sasol has secured additional green electrons, says Sasol business building, strategy and technology executive VP Sarushen Pillay.

“While contributing renewable energy to our operations, this initiative also contributes to our objective to unlock cost savings in our business,” he says.