Construction of a R1,2 billion, 75 MW solar power plant at Eskom’s Lethabo power station in the Free State is underway, marking the first major construction milestone for the utility’s renewable energy subsidiary following National Treasury approval for its establishment.
The project will fall under the oversight of Eskom Green after National Treasury granted Section 51G approval for the entity to be established as a ring-fenced subsidiary focused on renewable energy investments.
Once completed, the solar facility is expected to generate about 147 GWh of electricity a year – enough to supply an estimated 60 000 households.
The Lethabo solar project is part of Eskom’s broader strategy to roll out 17 priority renewable energy projects across the footprint of its existing coal-fired power stations. Construction activity across these projects is expected to progress between now and 2028 with Eskom’s renewable energy pipeline projected to deliver around 6 GW of new generation capacity by 2030.
The project is part of a construction-ready pipeline of at least 2 GW of renewable energy and pumped storage projects scheduled to advance this year.
The development also represents the first tangible implementation step since Treasury approved Eskom Green earlier this month, enabling the utility to ring-fence its renewable energy activities under a dedicated subsidiary structure. Eskom said the new entity is intended to accelerate renewable energy deployment while leveraging the utility’s existing transmission infrastructure, grid connections and operational expertise.
“Our coal-fired operations remain central to grid stability and we are strengthening that foundation by integrating renewable capacity on the same footprint,” said Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom’s Group Executive for Generation.
The utility said co-locating renewable generation at existing power station sites will reduce deployment costs, accelerate project execution and strengthen grid resilience by making use of established infrastructure.
“By leveraging established transmission infrastructure, grid connections and deep operational expertise, we can deploy new generation at pace and at scale without compromising system reliability,” Nxumalo said.
Funding for the Lethabo project has been provisioned within Eskom’s approved capital expenditure programme and will be financed through on-balance-sheet funding. Eskom said the funding model aligns with National Treasury’s debt relief conditions and will not require additional project finance borrowing.
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