Africa is increasingly harnessing its solar energy potential. In 2024, the continent added 2.5 GW of new solar generation capacity, with utility-scale projects making up 72% of this growth. To support this continuing growth, new computational software has been introduced to the solar energy market. Developed by 7SecondSolar, AUTOPV is designed to empower energy engineers to optimise and accelerate solar farm development through design automation.
Africa’s drive towards renewable energy is intensifying and there is a growing need for solutions that enable faster, smarter, and cost-effective utility-scale solar PV development.
One of the biggest hurdles in developing large-scale solar farms has always been the time and complexity of the design process. AUTOPV enables energy engineers to complete in days what once took months. Solar PV design is a highly iterative process, requiring early design decisions that determine costs and timelines. Later equipment and design changes are often impossible, even if they could lead to better yield, improved longevity, or cost benefits.
“Our software automates engineering-quality design outputs, generating precise bills of quantity, detailed engineering reports, AutoCAD drawings, and multiple design variations for the same site,” says Paul Nel, Chief Executive Officer at 7SecondSolar. “This helps energy engineers and developers compare cost and energy yield scenarios easily.”
Designing a utility-scale solar farm is a complex puzzle – one where even the smallest adjustments can lead to major cost savings and efficiency gains. This was evident in a recent 214 MW solar project where AUTOPV was used to generate eight different design variations in just one morning. “By making small tweaks, such as adjusting the width of corridors or repositioning string inverters, we identified two most-feasible designs. One could reduce cable costs by $1 million, and the other could improve energy efficiency enough to generate an additional $50 000 in annual revenue,” Nel adds. “These advantages could have been completely missed using a conventional design approach, which also would have taken weeks or possibly months to produce comparable design iterations. With AUTOPV, we did this in hours – with fully detailed, build-ready drawings showing exact cable routes and inverter placements.”
In Malawi, solar energy is emerging as a powerful tool to drive economic and social transformation. The Golomoti Solar Project, a 28.5 MWp solar PV and battery storage installation, is a prime example of how smart engineering technology can overcome complex site challenges. Engineers used AUTOPV to tackle the project’s intricate design requirements, including working around protected baobab trees in the centre of the site. By generating multiple layout configurations and equipment selections, the engineering team was able to identify a number of feasible design iterations in a matter of hours.
For developers and investors, this level of precision means greater control over project costs and efficiency from the outset. Africa’s push towards a renewable energy mix is intensifying and there is a growing need for solutions that enable faster, smarter, and cost-effective utility-scale solar PV development.
“To date, our software has been used to deliver 669 MW of design-stage projects, saving a total of more than 15 000 traditional engineering hours. Additionally, we have delivered 1.2 GW of early-stage development projects, saving over 4 000 engineering hours,” says Nel. “This has allowed engineering teams to focus on refining and optimising solar PV designs.”
For more information visit: www.7secondsolar.com/
