Independent power producer (IPP) SolarAfrica and Powerx, a NERSA-licensed energy trader, have signed a 60MW power purchase agreement that will ensure access to large-scale renewable energy for corporate and industrial businesses.
SolarAfrica CEO David McDonald emphasises the importance of collaboration in driving South Africa’s energy transition.
“Finalising this agreement with Powerx is a prime example of how the renewable energy sector is working together to support businesses. IPPs and energy traders play a vital role in advancing wheeling adoption, making it easier for organisations to access cleaner and more affordable electricity.”
The deal comes as more South African businesses and households are leaning towards renewable energy sources to avoid over-reliance on Eskom.
SolarAfrica recently secured R1.8 billion in funding, as it moves towards development of SunCentral, its flagship utility-scale solar project.
In a statement, SolarAfrica and Powerx say energy trading – where licensed traders purchase renewable energy from multiple IPPs and on-sell it to multiple businesses – has been widely successful in Europe and has gained momentum in South Africa.
As a trader, Powerx takes the clean power generated at scale by IPPs like SolarAfrica and sells it to its contracted off-takers.
According to the firms, these businesses benefit from greater choice and flexibility in their energy procurement, contributing to a more dynamic and agile power trading environment, while moving closer to their environmental, social and governance targets.
Recognising SolarAfrica’s progress on its SunCentral 1GW utility-scale solar farm, Powerx CEO Thembani Bukula comments: “With a shared vision for expanding clean energy access, we finalised this agreement within a few months, demonstrating the growing appetite for wheeled energy solutions in South Africa.”
SunCentral is a large-scale solar photovoltaic plant located between Hanover and De Aar in the Northern Cape. The project will be developed in three phases.
Phase one, consisting of 342MW, will be delivered through a staged rollout of three 114MW facilities and will deliver renewable energy to off-takers by wheeling it through SA’s power grid. Phase two and three will increase SunCentral’s capacity to 1GW.
The project will offer wheeling on a one-to-many basis, making it available to a wider pool of businesses in the country, notes the statement.
Wheeling of electricity is a common practice globally, and Eskom has approved third-party wheeling since 2008 for the physical export of energy onto the national grid by an independent power producer, and this facilitates open network access.
It allows privately-generated power to be transmitted across the national grid to customers that need it, in a willing buyer/willing seller model, according to Eskom. Vodacom and Discovery Group, as well as the City of Cape Town, have introduced electricity wheeling projects, to help businesses circumvent load-shedding.
SolarAfrica is part of the greater Starsight Energy Africa Group. It is backed by investors African Infrastructure Investment Managers and Helios Investment Partners.
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