Centurion: AfricUpdate – News Desk
Several independent power producers (IPPs) are already supplying significant power to South Africa’s grid and plan to deploy multiple gigawatts more capacity before the end of the decade. As South Africa transitions its energy mix to more renewable power, a large part of new electricity generation is expected to be supplied through private power purchase agreements. A report from Green Cape has estimated that the private sector will add a further 6,000MW of solar power and 3,500MW of wind power in the country by 2030.
IPPs are already contributing significant amounts of electricity to the grid. Apart from Eskom’s Sere wind farm, all of the country’s 7,100MW utility-scale renewable generation comes from IPPs. MyBroadband looked at the largest current players and identified the four biggest IPPs by capacity – Scatec ASA, Infinity Power, Red Rocket, and Mulilo Energy. Norwegian firm Scatec ASA has the largest total renewable capacity in South Africa, with 730MW in operation.
Scatec has been involved in South Africa’s renewable energy transition since its earliest days, having been awarded preferential bid status under the first renewable energy IPP procurement programme (REIPPP). Its 75MW Kalkbult Solar Plant entered commercial operation in March 2014, becoming the first privately-operated renewable energy plant to supply power to Eskom’s grid. The biggest part of its contribution comes from its Kenhardt hybrid plant, which entered commercial operation in December 2023.
The facility consists of a 540MW solar farm paired with a 1,140MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) with a peak output of 225MW and contracted output of 150MW. Scatec was recently awarded preferred bidder status for 846MW of solar power projects in the reallocation of capacity under REIPPP Bid Window 7. The company has also won preferred bidder status in the battery energy storage procurement programme.
The company has over 1,100MW of new solar or battery capacity currently in development or under construction. The second largest renewable IPP in South Africa is Infinity Power, which acquired about 624MW of wind power from five farms previously operated by Lekela Power. Two of these farms are adjacent – Loeriesfontein 2 and Khobab – and boast a combined 286MW capacity, the most of any wind power facility in the country.
The company was a major winner in the REIPPP Bid Window 7, securing preferred bidder status for six of the eight advertised solar power projects. These will have a combined capacity of 1,280MW. It has roughly 3,600MW of solar and wind power capacity under development in South Africa, as well as 3,388MWh of utility-scale battery storage. The third largest IPP by installed capacity is Cape Town-headquartered Red Rocket, with 520MW of capacity installed as of August 2025.
It has two major projects under construction – the 275MW Virginia Solar Park and 400MW Overberg Wind Farm. The latter will be South Africa’s largest wind farm and among the biggest onshore wind farms in the world. It is expected to enter commercial operation in 2026. Red Rocket was also awarded 590MW of solar power projects under REIPPP Bid Window 7. These comprise three solar power plants – two with 293MW capacities and a third with 260MW.
The last major IPP is Mulilo Energy, which has 420MW of solar and wind projects in operation in South Africa, 667MW in construction, and 1,500MW of capacity nearing financial close. Its most powerful facility is the Longyuan Mulilo De Aar 2 North wind farm, with 140MW of generating capacity. Mulilo has also secured preferred bidder status for numerous BESS projects totalling over 1,000MW capacity.
