NOA Group has announced financial close on the 157 MW Khauta West solar photovoltaic (PV) facility, building on the momentum of financial close on the 349 MW Khauta South project concluded in June 2025. Together, the two projects form the 506 MW Khauta Cluster which, once complete, will become the country’s largest single-asset solar PV facility, positioning the Free State as a strategic hub for utility-scale renewable energy projects.
Site preparations move ahead following financial close on the Khauta West and Khauta South solar PV projects.
The Khauta Cluster will deliver 1 073 GWh of clean electricity annually to a portfolio of private-sector customers across mining, manufacturing, data centres and commercial real estate sectors. Importantly, the cluster includes battery energy storage system (BESS) infrastructure to ensure dispatchability and support grid reliability.
“NOA continues to advance its technology offering to the commercial and industrial market through an active site pipeline and by adding the latest BESS technology to its generation facilities, including at the Khauta Cluster,” says Karel Cornelissen, CEO of NOA Group. “With permitting well advanced, we expect financial close on our first BESS system in mid-2026, enhancing our ability to deliver predictable, renewable energy supply to our customers.”
Reaching financial close on Khauta West shortly after financial close on Khauta South, was facilitated through the replication of the financing, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), and operations and maintenance (O&M) documentation. This streamlined approach enabled NOA to maintain project momentum and secure continuity across both developments, ensuring time and cost efficiencies.
The benefits of BESS
By smoothing out the supply-demand balance, BESS enables a greater proportion of renewable energy to be integrated into the grid without compromising stability or reliability. For NOA’s private off-take partners, BESS brings more consistent supply and the ability to meet peak-load demands. It supports NOA’s positioning as a technology-forward IPP in South Africa’s evolving energy sector.
Sited outside REDZ 5, the Khauta Cluster connects via an overhead transmission line to Eskom’s existing substation, leveraging the grid availability in the province. The project footprint covers 560 hectares, with a shared switching station and IPP substation stretching over an area of two rugby fields in size.
Khauta West (157 MW) is expected to achieve commercial operation by Q4 2026, followed by Khauta South (349 MW), in Q1 2027.
“This development reinforces our position as a leading IPP in the private energy market, supported by a growing portfolio, a storage-ready pipeline and market-leading wheeling expertise, to help accelerate decarbonisation and cost savings for our customers,” says Cornelissen.
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