SOLA Group has achieved financial close on its Naos-1 Hybrid Solar and Battery Project, a 300MW (435MWp) solar PV facility with 660MWh of battery energy storage in the Free State.
Enabled by long-term power purchase agreements with Sasol and Air Liquide, SOLA Group says the project marks a milestone in South Africa’s private power market. It claims it is the country’s first utility-scale solar PV and battery energy storage project purpose-built for wheeling to private end-users across the grid.
According to the company, while traditional renewable projects often struggle to meet peak evening demand, Naos-1’s hybrid design allows it to store low-cost solar energy and dispatch it when the grid needs it most.
This will provide Sasol and Air Liquide with a reliable supply of clean energy at competitive tariffs, it explains.
The project’s commercial operation is targeted for 2028.
“Naos-1 represents a major step forward for dispatchable renewable energy in South Africa’s private power market, and is the result of our intensive and innovative collaboration with Sasol and Air Liquide over several months,” says Jonathan Skeen, MD of commercial at the SOLA Group.
“The project is in line with SOLA’s objectives to convert solar power into affordable on-demand energy for our clients, and our target of achieving 2GW of solar power and 5GWh of storage by 2030.”
Supported by South African institutions, including the Development Bank of South Africa, and developed in collaboration with Sasol and Air Liquide, Naos-1 sets a benchmark for utility-scale solar-plus-storage wheeling to private end-users, the company notes.
Katherine Persson, MD of SOLA Assets, says: “After a much-accelerated power purchase agreement negotiation process, reaching financial close on schedule for a project of this scale, novelty and complexity is a further demonstration of SOLA’s unrivalled track record in delivering clean energy to our partners on time and to budget.”
“This project forms part of our broader transformation strategy towards a low-carbon energy portfolio and this 300MW is a key milestone in advancing our transition towards a sustainable future,” says Dr Sarushen Pillay, executive vice-president of Sasol’s Business Building, Strategy and Technology Business.
“This transaction is a major strategic step forward using a hybrid solution to set a new benchmark for reliable, firm renewable energy at scale. It demonstrates our shared sustained commitment with our long-term partner Sasol, to decarbonise the world’s largest oxygen production site here in South Africa,” says Nicolas Poirot, Africa, Middle East and India CEO of Air Liquide.
Naos-1 is the first of several projects the SOLA Group is rolling out, which will use battery storage to deliver low-cost, clean energy to South African businesses, while adapting to changing supply and demand dynamics, it says.
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