AS SOUTH Africa grapples with ongoing energy challenges, SolarAfrica has announced a R1.8 billion investment to develop its flagship utility-scale solar project, SunCentral, in the Northern Cape.

The investment comes as Eskom recently implemented Stage 6 load shedding, before scaling down to Stage 4 and eventually Stage 2 today.

SolarAfrica has successfully secured funding and reached financial close on the first 114-megawatt (MW) phase of the project, in partnership with Investec and RMB.

SunCentral is a large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant located between Hanover and De Aar in the Northern Cape. The project is expected to be developed in three phases, with an ambitious goal of reaching 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity upon completion.

The first phase of the project consists of 342MW, which will be delivered in a staged roll-out of three 114MW facilities. This phase will distribute renewable energy to various off-takers by wheeling it through South Africa’s power grid.

Phases two and three will further expand SunCentral’s capacity, ultimately reaching 1GW - a significant contribution to the country’s renewable energy sector.

One of SunCentral’s key benefits is its ability to offer wheeling on a one-to-many basis, making renewable energy accessible to a wider range of businesses across South Africa.

Wheeling is the process of transporting electricity from an independent power producer (IPP) to an end-user via an existing transmission or distribution network, such as Eskom’s grid. This means that businesses and municipalities can purchase renewable energy from solar or wind farms located far from their operations, securing a cleaner and more reliable power supply.

A prime example of wheeling in South Africa is Amazon’s deal with Eskom, where power from a solar farm in the Northern Cape is wheeled to Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centres.

Charl Alheit, chief investment officer at SolarAfrica, highlighted the significance of this milestone: “Reaching financial close on the first 114MW of our utility-scale wheeling development and Main Transmission Substation (MTS) investment marks a significant milestone in our commitment to advancing sustainable energy solutions for our customers in the commercial and industrial sectors.”

Alheit further emphasised that SunCentral’s large-scale capacity will provide businesses with cheaper, greener power across South Africa.

“We are excited to see this project move forward as we continue contributing to the energy transition while delivering long-term value to our customers,” he said.

SolarAfrica is part of the broader Starsight Energy Africa Group, which is backed by major investors African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) and Helios Investment Partners.

The success of SunCentral will serve as a blueprint for similar off-site generation projects in other key African markets where Starsight Energy Africa operates.

Paul van Zijl, Group CEO of Starsight Energy Africa Group, emphasised the broader impact of this development: “The construction of SolarAfrica’s SunCentral is a critical step in our journey to expand clean energy adoption across Sub-Saharan Africa. We are excited to move this project forward and continue delivering long-term value to our customers.”

Thor Corry, investment director at AIIM, also praised the modular approach of the project: “The modular approach to construct the MTS and plug in subsequent 114MW modules provides a superb platform for SolarAfrica to scale at pace to meet the needs of the C&I [commercial and industrial] customers in South Africa who want to secure price certainty and cost-efficiencies, while furthering South Africa’s Just Energy Transition.”

Corry pointed out that with South Africa needing up to 30GW of new capacity by 2030 to meet its climate commitments and energy demands, projects like SunCentral are critical in addressing the country’s energy crisis while accelerating the transition to cleaner power.

With load shedding continuing to disrupt daily life, initiatives like SunCentral provide hope for a more stable, energy-secure future.