Multinational energy company ENGIE has been named a preferred bidder under South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme Bid Window 7 for its 240 MW Corona solar PV project in the Free State.
The Corona solar PV project, to be located near Virginia, is one of the projects selected by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy as part of Bid Window 7, which aims to procure additional generation capacity to support security of supply. The project will deliver 240 MW of capacity to the national grid.
Construction of the Corona PV facility is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026 with commercial operation planned for the fourth quarter of 2028.
In parallel, ENGIE has been pre-qualified as one of seven bidders for South Africa’s first independent transmission projects auction scheduled for 2026. The ITP programme is intended to accelerate private-sector participation in transmission infrastructure development, addressing grid capacity constraints that have emerged as a key bottleneck to new generation investment.
