On another renewable energy project, SOLA Group has achieved financial close (FC) on its Naos-1 Hybrid Solar and Battery Project, a 300 MW (435 MWp) solar PV facility with 660 MWh of battery energy storage (BESS). Enabled by long-term power purchase agreements with Sasol and Air Liquide, the project is significant in South Africa’s private power market, being the country’s first utility-scale solar PV and battery energy storage project purpose-built for wheeling to private end-users across the grid.
The Naos-1 hybrid solar PV and energy storage project, now moving into construction, will take the SOLA Group’s project portfolio to over 1 GW.
A particular advantage of Naos-1’s hybrid design is that this allows the plant to store low-cost solar energy and dispatch it when the grid needs it most – typically to meet demand during the evening peak. It provides Sasol and Air Liquide with a reliable supply of clean energy at competitive tariffs.
Developed, designed, implemented and to be operated by SOLA Group, Naos-1 is the largest privately contracted hybrid renewable energy project to reach financial close in South Africa to date. Commercial operation date for the project 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 collaboration with Sasol and Air Liquide over several months”, says Jonathan Skeen, Managing Director 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 2 GW of solar power and 5 GWh of storage by 2030.”
Supported by leading South African banks and financial institutions, including the DBSA, and developed in collaboration with Sasol and Air Liquide, Naos-1 sets a new benchmark for utility-scale solar-plus-storage wheeling to private end-users. Katherine Persson, Managing Director of SOLA Assets comments on the project. “After a much accelerated Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) negotiation process, reaching financial close on schedule for a project of this scale, novelty, and complexity is a further demonstration of SOLA’s track record in delivering clean energy to our partners on time and to budget.”
Dr Sarushen Pillay, Executive Vice President of Sasol’s Business Building, Strategy and Technology Business, says, “This project forms part of our broader transformation strategy towards a low-carbon energy portfolio and this 300 MW marks a key milestone in advancing our transition towards a sustainable future.”
“This transaction reflects a strategic step forward in using a hybrid solution to set deliver 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 at Air Liquide.
Naos-1, located near Viljoenskroon in the Free State, is the first of several projects that the SOLA Group is rolling out which will use battery storage to deliver low-cost clean energy to South African businesses, actively adapting to changing supply and demand dynamics. With a further 600 MW of hybrid solar and battery projects at a mature development stage, the SOLA Group is proud to stand at the forefront of advancing the modernisation and decarbonisation of the South African power system. The Naos-1 project takes the group’s portfolio of projects in operation and construction to over 1 GW dc with 600 MW already operational.
For more information visit: www.solagroup.co.za