What Are Solar Farms?
A Photovoltaic Power Station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building-mounted and other decentralized solar power because they supply power at the utility level, rather than to a local user or users. Utility-scale solar is sometimes used to describe this type of project.
This approach differs from concentrated solar power, the other major large-scale solar generation technology, which uses heat to drive a variety of conventional generator systems. Both approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but to date, for a variety of reasons, photovoltaic technology has seen much wider use. As of 2019, about 97% of utility-scale solar power capacity was PV.
How Many Solar Farms In South Africa?
1. JASPER 96 MW
The Jasper power station, which is currently the largest single solar PV plant in Africa, is a US$260 million utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) farm located in the town of Postmasburg, Northern Cape province. This is currently the largest of the solar projects in South Africa.
The solar farm, which comprises 325,000 solar panels, sits on 150 hectares of land (277 acres).
The plant’s operation has created 44 permanent jobs, and electricity generated from the plant can power 80,000 homes.
The grid-connected plant is owned by a consortium (see Table 1). The contractor for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) was a joint venture (JV) between Group Five and Spanish firm Iberdrola.
The IPP was expected to sell the electricity generated to Eskom at 267 c/kWh.
2. SISHEN 94.3 MW
The Sishen solar power plant is a US$ million utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) farm located in Dibeng, Northern Cape province.
The solar farm, which comprises 319,000 solar panels, sits on 250 hectares of land.
The plant’s operation has created 19 permanent jobs, and electricity generated from the plant can power 100,000 homes.
The grid-connected plant is owned by a consortium (see Table 1).
The contractor for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) was a joint venture (JV) between Spanish firm Acciona and South African company Aveng Africa.
The IPP was expected to sell the electricity generated to Eskom at 267 c/kWh.
3. DE AAR (2) 90 MW
The Solar Capital De Aar 2 solar plant is a ZAR2.6 bn utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the town of De Aar, Northern Cape.
The solar plant sits on 191 hectares of land.
It was jointly financed with the De Aar 1 solar plant.
Both plants generate enough electricity to power 75,000 homes through the national grid and have created 120 permanent jobs.
The grid-connected plant is owned by a consortium (see Table 1).
The contractor for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) was the Indian firm, Sterling and Wilson.
The IPP was expected to sell the electricity generated to Eskom at 165 c/kWh.
4. DE AAR (3) 86.25 MW
The De Aar solar plant is a US$180 million utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) farm under construction near the town of Loeriesfontein, Northern Cape.
The solar farm sits on 193 hectares of land and the electricity generated by the plant could power 50,000 homes.
The grid-connected plant is owned by a consortium (see Table 1).
The contractor for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) is the Indian firm Sterling & Wilson, which has done several solar projects in South Africa.
The electricity from the plant will be sold to Eskom at 79 c/kWh.
5. MULILO SONNEDIX PRIESKA 86.2 MW
The Mulilo Sonnedix Prieska solar plant is a US$133 million utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) farm located near the town of Prieska, Northern Cape.
The solar farm consists of 282,000 panels and sits on 140 hectares of land.
The electricity generated from the farm could power 40,000 homes through the national grid.
The grid-connected plant is owned by Spanish IPP firm Sonnedix and South African renewable energy developer Mulilo.
The contractor for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) was Juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd.
The electricity from the plant was expected to be sold to Eskom at 99 c/kWh.
6. MULILO PRIESKA 86.23 MW
The Mulilo Prieska solar plant is a US$70 million utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) farm located near the town of Prieska, Northern Cape.
The solar farm consists of 198,000 panels and sits on 205 hectares of land.
The electricity generated from the farm could power 75,000 homes through the national grid.
The grid-connected plant is owned by a consortium – see Table 2.
The contractor for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) was Sunpower Energy Systems Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd.
The electricity from the plant was expected to be sold to Eskom at 99 c/kWh.
7. DE AAR (1) 85.26 MW
The Solar Capital De Aar 1 solar plant is a ZAR2.2 bn utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the town of De Aar, Northern Cape.
The solar plant sits on 282 hectares of land.
The plant was jointly financed with the De Aar 2 solar plant.
Both plants generate enough electricity to power 75,000 homes through the national grid and have created 120 permanent jobs.
The grid-connected plant is owned by a consortium (see Table 2).
The contractor for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) was the Indian firm, Sterling and Wilson.
The IPP was expected to sell the electricity generated to Eskom at 267 c/kWh.
8. PALEISHEUWEL 82.5 MW
The Paleisheuwel solar project is a US$110 million utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) farm located in the town of Paleisheuwel, Western Cape.
The solar farm consists of 611,000 panels and sits on 240 hectares of land.
The electricity generated from the farm could power around 48,000 homes through the national grid.
The grid-connected plant is majority owned by Enel Green Power South Africa, which is wholly owned by Italian energy giant Enel SpA.
The contractor for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) was the Italian firm TerniEnergia Projects (Pty) Ltd.
The electricity from the plant was expected to be sold to Eskom at 99 c/kWh.
9. ADAMS SOLAR PV (2) 82.5 MW
The Adams Solar PV 2 solar plant is a US$110 million utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) farm located near the towns of Hotazel and Kathu, Northern Cape.
The solar farm comprises 611,000 panels and sits on 198 hectares of land.
The electricity generated from the farm could power around 50,000 homes through the national grid.
The grid-connected plant is majority owned by Enel Green Power South Africa, which is wholly owned by Italian energy giant Enel SpA.
The contractor for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) was Electronica South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
The electricity from the plant was expected to be sold to Eskom at 99 c/kWh.
10. PULIDA SOLAR 82.5 MW
The Pulida solar project is a US$266 million utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) farm located in Letsemeng local municipality, Free State.
The solar farm consists of 611,000 panels and sits on 220 hectares of land.
The electricity generated from the farm could power around 48,000 homes through the national grid.
The grid-connected plant is majority owned by Enel Green Power South Africa, which is wholly owned by Italian energy giant Enel SpA.
The contractor for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) was Erigenix (Pty) Ltd.
The electricity from the plant was expected to be sold to Eskom at 99 c/kWh.
How Big Is The Solar Industry In South Africa?
The South Africa Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Market size is expected to grow from 5.44 gigawatts in 2023 to 9.24 gigawatts by 2028, at a CAGR of 11.17% during the forecast period (2023-2028). The market was negatively impacted by COVID-19 in 2020. Presently the market has now reached pre-pandemic levels.