Juwi Renewable Energies has announced it will begin construction on three solar projects in South Africa in 2025, totalling 340MW of capacity and over Rand 6 billion (US$321.3 million) in investment value. The firm will also operate and maintain the facilities.

The projects include a 120MW solar photovoltaic (PV) facility in the Free State province for data centre provider Teraco Data Centres, which will wheel energy to data centres across the country. When fully operational, the plant is expected to generate more than 338,000MWh a year.

Another scheme set to begin construction is the 120MW Paarde Valley PV facility in the Mpumalanga province for local chemicals and energy firm Sasol and French industrial company Air Liquide. Juwi will undertake the project in partnership with the independent power producer (IPP) team of France’s TotalEnergies and the local Mulilo and Reatile Group, which achieved financial close on the project in November 2024.

Sasol and Air Liquide signed the power purchase agreement (PPA) for the Paarde Valley facility in February 2023. The plant is set to decarbonise Sasol’s Secunda site where Air Liquide operates the world’s largest oxygen production plant. It is expected to begin commercial operations at the end of 2026.

The third project Juwi will begin work on in 2025 is the 100MW Sonvanger PV facility in the Free State province, in partnership with the local Pele Green Energy. The plant will wheel power to ferrochrome smelters operated by a joint venture of Swiss mining firm Glencore and the local Merafe Resources in the North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces.

Together, the schemes are planned to generate over 1 million MWh of clean energy a year, enough to power 200,000 South African households and contribute around 5% to the country’s total solar PV capacity. The projects will also create over 2,000 jobs during construction.

“These projects underscore the critical role of private sector leadership in driving South Africa’s energy transition,” said Richard Doyle, managing director of Juwi Renewable Energies.

According to the company, the start of 2025 has marked significant progress for South Africa’s energy sector, with the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act coming into force in August last year and the announcement of preferred bidders under bid window 7 of the government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) in December.

The Electricity Regulation Amendment Act sets out far-reaching reforms of South Africa’s power sector to facilitate greater competition, reduce energy costs, increase investment in new generation capacity and establish an independent transmission company to oversee the national grid. The act also provides for an open market platform allowing competitive wholesale and retail buying/selling of electricity.

Meanwhile, eight bidders with a combined contracted capacity of 1,760MW have been appointed under REIPPPP bid window 7, which was launched in December 2023, targeting 5,000MW of capacity, comprising 1,800MW of PV and 3,200MW of onshore wind.

South Africa’s latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), released in November 2024, targets 26GW of new renewable energy capacity by 2030, requiring an average annual deployment of 6GW of wind and solar power.

“Achieving South Africa’s renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets demands urgent and decisive action from the country’s most energy-intensive sectors,” said Rethabile Melamu, CEO of the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA).

“Private sector investments are essential, especially considering our heavy reliance on coal and the carbon-intensive nature of our economy. These projects [being undertaken by Juwi] not only accelerate our transition to clean energy, but also highlight innovative business models and solutions, while strengthening the resilience and global competitiveness of our industry.”

Photo: 86MW Droogfontein 2 solar plant built by Juwi (Source: Juwi)