Sola Group on Tuesday launched the 195 megawatt-peak (MWp) Springbok solar power project in Virginia in the Free State.
The renewable energy company said the pioneering flexible multi-buyer platform allows South African corporate buyers to buy clean energy from a single source.
The solar project also features South Africa’s first operational virtual wheeling power purchase agreement, with Vodacom.
This mechanism allows companies to purchase renewable energy from an off-site facility, like the Virginia solar farm, and offset its electricity consumption through a financial arrangement, without needing a direct physical link.
“The project engages multiple buyers on a flexible bilateral basis without the additional costs of a trading entity. This model is crucial for accelerating the private sector’s energy transition and managing risk across the grid,” Sola Group said in a statement.
The power generated will be wheeled across the Eskom grid. Clients include Amazon and Sibanye-Stillwater, which are the original anchor buyers. Others are Sasol, Afrimat, Redefine, Old Mutual, Rio Tinto and BRM Brands.
The facility will generate some 430GWh of clean energy annually, which is enough to power around 150 000 households. It will offset an estimated 399 000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year, which is equivalent to planting 6.5 million trees, Sola Group said.
Blueprint
“The Springbok solar power project provides a blueprint for the future of large-scale, private energy in South Africa,” said Sola commercial division MD Jonathan Skeen in a statement.
“By 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.”
The next phase of the project will see the introduction of co-located battery energy storage system (Bess) capacity.
Read: Vodacom flips switch on SA’s first full-scale virtual wheeling project
Sola Group’s Naos 1 and Nyala solar and storage projects in Viljoenskroon and Welkom in the Free State are set to deliver 770MW of generation capacity coupled with the Bess providing over 1.5GWh of dispatchable power. These projects will be among the largest private solar and battery storage facilities in Africa.
Sola said the wheeling framework is central to this growth, allowing large-scale projects located in renewable resource-rich areas with grid connection availability to supply power to customers nationwide.
The delivery of the Springbok project comes as South Africa’s private generation sector drives significant market activity. Non-profit organisation GreenCape estimates that private sector renewable energy capacity will add about 6GW of PV and 4GW of wind power by 2030.
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And, according to the newly released 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which maps out the country’s future energy mix, renewables, gas and nuclear will supply more power to the country than coal by 2039.
Richard Stewart, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater, said the Springbok project is a tangible step in the mining company’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040.
Read: Wind, solar and gas take centre stage in SA’s future energy mix
“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.”
Amazon Web Services, meanwhile, is aiming for net-zero carbon by 2040. James Hickman, AWS country manager, said the collaboration advances the cloud service provider’s sustainability goals and helps create new models for corporate renewable energy procurement in Africa.
The Springbok project was constructed in a joint venture between Sola and construction company WHBO. Funding, which exceeded R3-billion, was secured from a consortium including Rand Merchant Bank, Investec, Absa, Revego and Ubuzwe.
The Springbok project increases Sola’s operational portfolio in South Africa to 464MWp, establishing it as South Africa’s largest operational provider of private power contracts. — © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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