International company building huge solar projects in South Africa with enough panels to cover 160 rugby fields

The German-headquartered renewable energy provider, which has offices in Cape Town, has signed two solar module supply agreements with JA Solar.

The deal is for close to 420,000 solar panels for two large-scale projects totalling 220 MW, currently being executed for major industrial energy users, such as Glencore, Sasol and Air Liquide.

The projects include a 100 MW Sonvanger Solar Plant for Glencore, developed in partnership with Pele Green Energy.

There is also a 120 MW Paarde Valley PV2 project for Sasol and Air Liquide, delivered with TotalEnergies, Mulilo and Reatile Group.

These projects will come online in late 2026 and use enough solar panels to cover 160 rugby fields.

The 220MW projects form part of JUWI’s broader construction rollout, including more than R6 billion in new-build solar PV projects.

Once finished, these projects will add about 5% to South Africa’s total installed solar PV capacity.

“We’re proud to work with global technology leaders like JA Solar, energy-intensive industries and independent power producers to advance South Africa’s energy transition,” said Richard Doyle, Managing Director of JUWI Renewable Energies.

“With the country targeting nearly 30 gigawatts of new wind and solar by 2030, and 11 GW of coal capacity scheduled for decommissioning shortly, we need to ramp up renewable energy deployment faster than ever before if we’re going to keep the lights on.”

On top of reducing carbon emissions for some of the worst emitters in the country, the solar panels will also help to reduce electricity costs and ease pressure on the grid.

The two projects are expected to supply 672,000 MWh of clean electricity annually, which is expected to reduce around 625,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.

This is the equivalent of removing over 130,000 cars from the road, highlighting how the switch to renewable energy is crucial for cutting harmful emissions. 

Images and renderings of the projects

Issued on BusinessTech by Luke Fraser | https://businesstech.co.za/news/energy/829135/international-company-building-huge-solar-projects-in-south-africa-with-enough-panels-to-cover-160-rugby-fields/