South Africa commissions largest wheeling project to date

South Africa has commissioned its largest wheeling project, with SOLA Group supplying more than 200 MW of solar power to Tronox Mineral Sands via the Eskom network.

South Africa’s largest wheeling project to date has been commissioned in Lichtenburg, North West Province. Under the terms of the agreement, SOLA Group will supply more than 200 MW of renewable energy to Tronox Mineral Sands via the Eskom transmission network.

Wheeling transfers electrical power through a utility’s transmission or distribution system between different service areas. The power will come from two solar plants recently completed by SOLA near Lichtenburg, generating 126 MW and 130 MW.

The two installations feature more than 390,000 bifacial solar modules on single-axis trackers, covering a total area of 430 hectares and generating 593,721 MWh of energy per year – enough to serve about 80,000 households.

They are two of the first major solar projects to be built outside of Northern Cape Province, long considered the best location in South Africa for solar projects.

 “Not only is the SOLA project a breakthrough for the private energy market but it has also played a crucial role in improving the livelihoods of the local community,” said Mpho Motho, Tronox managing director South Africa and KSA. “During the construction of the solar plants, over 700 local community members were employed.”

Ian Burger, MD technical at SOLA, added that the company has delivered the only operational utility-scale renewable wheeling plants in South Africa to date, totaling 268 MW, with another 325 MW now under construction.