Name of the Project
Sasol solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities.

Location
The projects will be located in Secunda, Mpumalanga, and in Sasolburg, in the Free State, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Sasol.

Project Description
Sasol invited interested bidders in November 2020 to participate in a request for proposals (RFPs) process for the development of two embedded 10 MW solar PV facilities.

The project forms part of Sasol’s broader greenhouse-gas (GHG) emission reduction aspiration and will advance Sasol to achieving its target of a 10% GHG emission reduction by 2030.

The successful bidder/s will be expected to design, finance, build, operate, maintain and own the solar PV facilities and their associated connection infrastructure to supply 10 MW of power to each of Sasol’s operations at their own cost. The successful bidder/s will supply electricity from the solar PV facilities as independent power producer/s to Sasol as part of a long-term power purchase agreement. 

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start/End Date
The plants are expected to be operational in 2022.

Latest Developments
Sasol has received an “overwhelming response” to the RFPs from independent power producers (IPPs); the evaluation of the bids are under way.

Project implementation should begin in 2021, with Sasol intending to enter into long-term power purchase agreements with the IPPs, which will fund, build and operate the power facilities.

The same model will be used for the other tranches of Sasol’s proposed 900 MW renewable-energy project, for which Sasol invited bidders in May 2020 to participate in a request for proposal (RFP) process for the supply of renewable energy to its South African operations.

Sasol President and CEO Fleetwood Grobler is optimistic about Sasol’s being able to navigate South Africa’s restrictive policy and regulatory environment, noting that the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has indicated that it will consider offering support for distributed-generation investments on a case-by-case basis, should there be any conflict with the Integrated Resource Plan or other regulations.

However, lifting the licence-exemption cap from 1 MW to above 50 MW, as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address, will also help Sasol’s roll-out, Grobler has confirmed.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Sasol head of corporate communications Alex Anderson, tel +27 10 344 6509 or email alex.anderson@sasol.com.