The SOLA Group has powered up Africa’s first multi-buyer virtual wheeling facility – the Springbok Solar Power Project – considered a major breakthrough for large-scale renewable energy procurement on the continent.
Delivered ahead of schedule, the 195-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) facility has pioneered the flexible multi-buyer platform model for large-scale solar PV in the region and is currently the only facility of its kind that’s operational in Africa. This project represents an important step in modernising South Africa’s grid infrastructure while creating a model for future development – and demonstrates how innovative approaches can accelerate grid modernisation.
This is the fourth large scale private wheeling project SOLA Group has brought to commercial operation bringing its total operational portfolio to 464 MWp, the largest for operational private power contracts in South Africa.
The utility-scale solar PV facility is specifically designed for multiple private corporate clients and is considered a breakthrough for the multi-buyer model in the African energy landscape.
Traditionally, energy wheeling plants have been enabled by a single private offtake so Springbok Solar Power Project breaks new ground by introducing a model that combines long-term anchor contracts with buyers including Amazon and Sibanye-Stillwater, with a range of shorter-term, flexible agreements with a further seven companies. This innovation results in more client choice and optionality depending on their current business outlook. This structure also enables more organisations to participate in the renewable energy market creating a more resilient and diverse energy ecosystem.
Additional buyers include Rio Tinto, Redefine, Old Mutual, Vodacom, Sasol, Afrimat, and BRM Brands which, together, represent a cross-section of South Africa’s most prominent sectors from mining to telecoms to finance.
The project will also deliver the country’s first virtual wheeling power purchase agreement (PPA) with Vodacom which is a key innovation in how companies on Eskom low voltage power networks and in municipal-connected areas can access renewable energy.
This opens the way for buyers which did not previously have access to cost-effective bulk clean energy and had already saturated their on-site generation opportunities. In addition, the project has allocated power to sell to the SAPP (Southern African Power Pool) market which it intends delivering in October 2025. This power will help pave the way for more energy supply to South Africa’s neighbouring countries currently facing large and costly energy deficits.
At full capacity, the SOLA Group’s Springbok Solar Power Project will generate ~430 GWh annually – enough to power 150 000 homes and offset ~399 000 tonnes of CO₂ each year (which is the equivalent to planting 6,5-million trees).