Manufacturers of solar modules and project developer, Canadian Solar, announced today that it has signed a 256 MW module contract with Cape Town-based vertically integrated independent power producer, SOLA Group, through its majority-owned subsidiary CSI Solar. The modules will be delivered to two major solar projects in South Africa, Reportedly the first two largest of this magnitude which is based on private power purchase agreements.
The two projects are located in South Africa’s North West Province and cover an area of ​​approximately 430 hectares. They each have a capacity of 126 MWp and 130 MWp. Both are developed and operated by the SOLA Group and its partners.
Construction began in October this year and will be commercially operational in the first quarter of 2024. When operational, they are expected to collectively generate around 580 GWh of solar power per year, powering 40,000 homes and saving 595 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
The first solar projects of this scale in South Africa, they are 100% South African owned, financed, built, operated and managed. The model of private power through bilateral agreements offers the end user the benefits of “competition, choice and ultimately a more diverse contribution to the power system,” said Dom Wills, CEO of SOLA Group. “This is a great achievement and an important step in South Africa’s plan to open up the electricity grid to enable more flexible electricity trading,” commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar.
Under the terms of the contract, Canadian Solar will supply 390,073 pieces of its latest BiHiKu7 series bifacial modules, which use 210mm wafers and have an output power of up to 670W. Canadian Solar states that they are tailored for large projects and achieve efficiencies of up to 21.6%.
*Cover photo: Canadian Solar