South African independent power producer Mulilo reports that its 337 MWdc Middlepunt solar PV plant will deliver electricity at R458/MWh when it enters into commercial operation in the coming 24 months – the cheapest electricity procured to date under South Africa’s public bidding rounds.

Located near Welkom in the Free State, Mulilo CEO Jan Fourie reports that the R4.4-billion project is also the first project procured under Bid Window 7 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, or REIPPPP, to have advanced to financial close.

During Bid Window 7, the initial aim was to procure 5 000 MW of new renewables capacity, but 3 940 MW was ultimately procured in 2025 across 18 PV projects only, with grid constraints having prevented any new wind project awards.

With a contracted export capacity of 240 MWac, Middlepunt has concluded a 20-year power purchase agreement with the National Transmission Company South Africa, and construction is under way.

Once in operation, the PV facility is expected to supply about 770 GWh yearly into the national grid when it is connected through the Everest Main Transmission Substation.

“The electricity supplied to the South African grid is priced at R458/MWh (approximately $27/MWh) . . . [It] ranks among the most affordable green energy available anywhere in the world,” Fourie says.

The financial close announcement follows a recent R15-billion investment pledge made by Mulilo at the South Africa Investment Conference in March.

It also comes after the company announced that its 76 MW/304 MWh Mercury Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project, located near Viljoenskroon in the Free State, had achieved financial close.

The R1.4-billion BESS project, which will employ Lithium Iron Phosphate technology, was the first Mulilo project procured during South Africa's second battery-storage bidding round to advance to financial close.

“The successful close of the Middlepunt Solar project further contributes to Mulilo’s strategic ambition of delivering 1 GW of new generation capacity per year, and forms part of our growing portfolio across wind, solar and battery energy storage technologies.”

Mulilo, whose shareholders include Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Norfund, reports that it has a development pipeline exceeding 30 GW.

The Reatile Group and Perpetua are the project’s empowerment partners, alongside a local community trust.

Mulilo lists the project’s financial, legal, technical, and insurance advisers as being Standard Bank, Absa, Nedbank, PepperTree Capital, Bowmans, Fasken, and DKVG, Arup and Marsh.