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					</table>South Africa’s <a href="https://www.gov.za/source-department/department-electricity-and-energy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Electricity and Energy</a> has selected four additional solar projects with a total capacity of 890 MW under the seventh bid window of the country’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP).
Corona Solar PV Project in the North West province secured a capacity of 240 MW for a VfM of ZAR532,000 (~$31,743.76)/MWh.
The Rondebosch Solar Park and Springhaas Solar Facility 1 secured a capacity of 240 MW each, while Springhaas Solar Facility 6 secured 170 MW, with a value-for-money (VfM) price of ZAR532,990 (~$31,802.83)/MWh each. These projects are in the Free State province.
VfM is the bid tariff price used by the South African government to decide which projects offer the best value during bid evaluation.
<a href="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture1-8.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-88047 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture1-8.png" alt="List of Additional Successful Bidders Under South Africa’s REIPPPP Bid Window 7" width="903" height="244" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture1-8.png 903w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture1-8-300x81.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture1-8-768x208.png 768w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture1-8-650x176.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture1-8-624x169.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Picture1-8-600x162.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 903px) 100vw, 903px" /></a>
REIPPPP is a South African initiative to increase electricity capacity through private sector investment in solar, concentrated solar, onshore wind, small hydro, landfill gas, biomass, and biogas projects.
The bid window 7 aims to develop 3.2 GW of wind and 1.8 GW of solar projects.
In August, South Africa’s power distribution company, Eskom Holdings, <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/south-africas-eskom-invites-bids-to-offtake-291-mw-of-solar-power" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invited</a> bids to offtake 291 MW of power from its solar projects. The tender is a part of Eskom’s Renewable Energy Offtake Program, which was launched to transition away from coal-based power sources.
Last December, eight solar projects were <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/south-africa-solar-battery-projects-auction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">awarded</a> preferred bidder status under REIPPPP. The projects are located in the Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Free State, and the North West provinces.
In June, South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/five-companies-win-south-africas-616-mw-2462-mwh-bess-auction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the preferred bidders to set up 616 MW/2,464 MWh Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) under the third bid window of the Independent Power Producer Procurement Program. The selected projects were Haru BESS by Scatec at the Leander substation (123 MW), Bloemhoek BESS by Mulilo at the Theseus substation (124 MW), Erfdeel BESS by Mulilo at the Everest substation (123 MW), Vanilla BESS by Mulilo at the Havard substation (123 MW), and Retreat BESS by Mulilo at the Merapi substation (123 MW).

Four Projects Win South Africa’s 890 MW Solar Auction

South Africa has opened the country&#8217;s fifth renewable energy bidding window to procure 2.6 GW of clean energy projects. Out of the 2.6 GW capacity, 1.6 GW will be sourced from wind, and 1 GW will be sourced from solar projects under South Africa&#8217;s renewable energy independent power producer procurement program (REIPPPP).
The program was launched in August 2020. The request for proposal (RfP) was issued by the South African <a href="http://www.energy.gov.za/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Mineral Resources and Energy</a>.
The closing date for bid submission is August 04, 2021.
Under the REIPPPP program, the country plans to issue four more tenders within the next twelve months. These will include 2.6 GW from renewable energy, 3 GW from gas, 1.5 GW from coal, and 513 MW from battery storage.
The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, SG Mantashe, also announced the list of eight shortlisted bidders for the procurement of 2 GW of power to meet the country&#8217;s growing energy demands.
The list of shortlisted bidders includes ACWA Power Project DAO, Karpowership SA Coega, Karpowership SA Richards Bay, Karpowership SA Saldanha, Mulilo Total Coega, Mulilo Total Hydra Storage, Oya Energy Hybrid Facility, and Umoyilanga Energy.
He added that the evaluation process resulted in the selection of eight preferred bids totaling 1.85 GW and a further three eligible bids totaling 150 MW.
The solutions provided by these bidders include solar, wind, liquified natural gas, and battery storage. The prices for the proposed solutions range from R1,468 (~$100)/MWh to R1,885 (~$128)/MWh. The weighted average price is R1,575 (~$107)/MWh.
These eight projects will bring in R45 billion (~$3.05 billion) to the South African economy from private sector investment, with an average local content of 50% during the construction period. About 3,800 job opportunities will be created during the 18 months construction period and a further 13,500 during the 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) term.
The preferred bidders are required to reach financial closure by the end of July 2021. It is expected that the power from these projects will be connected to the grid from August 2022.
&#8220;The energy generation landscape of the country is evolving, and concerted efforts are underway to ensure that the IPP procurement programs move ahead to deliver secure energy supply from a diverse range of energy sources,&#8221; added the minister.
South Africa has planned to install 11.8 GW of new capacity from renewables, natural gas, battery storage, and coal-fired projects. Out of the total capacity, 4.8 GW has been set aside for wind, 2 GW for solar, and 500 MW for energy storage.
In October last year, South Africa-based Marula Platinum Mine <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mining-company-plans-solar-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a request for information for setting up a 10 MW solar project to power its operations. Marula sought information on designing, finance, supply, construct, commission, operate, and maintain a 10 MW solar project at its platinum mine in Limpopo, South Africa.
Earlier, ArcelorMittal South Africa had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/arcelormittal-ipps-solar-projects-south-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a request for information to recruit independent power producers to set up solar power projects at six South African locations. The company planned to enter into PPAs with power producers to build, own, and operate solar projects at Vanderbijlpark, Newcastle, Vereeniging, Pretoria, Thabazimbi, and Saldanha.

Tender Floated for 2.6 GW of Solar and Wind Projects in South Africa

<a href="http://www.siemensgamesa.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Siemens Gamesa</a> (SGRE), a renewable energy project developer and an Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) provider, will supply wind turbines of total capacity 250 MW to wind farms in South Africa.
The supply will consist of 109 units of (SWT-2.3-108 turbine) onshore wind turbines.
SGRE will supply 140 MW of turbines to Kangnas wind farm t located near Springbok in the Northern Cape and 110 MW of turbines to Perdekraal East wind farm situated 80 km northeast of Ceres in the Western Cape.
The SWT-2.3-108 turbine will feature a rated capacity of 2.3 MW and a 108 meters diameter rotor.
A 10-year full service agreement will secure the performance of the wind farms, which will together supply enough clean electricity for approximately 214,000 South African homes.
A consortium led by Mainstream Renewable Power was awarded the contracts for the wind farms by the Department of Energy in South Africa as part of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Program (REIPPPP).
Siemens Gamesa will start the supply of the wind turbines early 2019, the wind farm’s completion is planned for 2020.
“This is the next big milestone for Siemens Gamesa in South Africa and with adding these two wind farms, Siemens Gamesa will have installed more than 850MW of wind capacity in the country” said Janek Winand, the managing director of Siemens Gamesa South Africa.
“We are proud to offer services with a localized team based in Johannesburg with long lasting experience and determined to generate value for South Africa by creating jobs, supporting local manufacturing and driving development projects within local communities” added Janek.
Present in South Africa since 2014, the accumulated base installed by Siemens Gamesa accounts today to 324 MW of rated capacity, and two wind projects totaling 280 MW under construction.
Meanwhile, in India, Siemens Gamesa recently <a href="https://mercomindia.com/siemens-gamesa-wind-turbine-gujarat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it has bagged the largest order for wind turbines in India. A statement issued by the company said, “Under the terms of the EPC contract entered into with <a href="http://www.sembcorp.com/en/media/features?Id=9179" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sembcorp Green Infra Ltd</a>, Siemens Gamesa will build the 300 MW wind farm, at which it will install 143 of its SG 2.1-122 turbines, making it the largest single order secured by Siemens Gamesa in India”.
Then in March 2018, Mercom had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/siemens-gamesa-160-mw-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Siemens Gamesa won two contracts for the development of 160 MW of grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in India.

Siemens Gamesa to Supply 250 MW of Wind Turbines to South Africa

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