SunEdison secures US$185 million funding for 60MW project in South Africa

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

SunEdison has secured ZAR1.8 billion (US$185 million) in funding for a 60MW solar project in South Africa.

The 60MW ‘Boshof Solar Park’ located in Boshof, Free State, is part of the second window of bids for South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Boshof is the first REIPPPP project to use a South African majority-owned module manufacturer. 

The ZAR1.8 billion funding (US$185 million) was provided by the US government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which is providing 75% of the ZAR2.4 billion project cost in foreign debt funding.

The project is to supply South Africa’s national grid under a 20-year power purchase agreement, signed by Eskom and the Department of Energy. The plant is scheduled to generate electricity by the last quarter of 2014.

The project will create 280 construction and operation jobs, and 1,000 indirect jobs through sub-contracts. Also funding of ZAR200 million (US$19.7 million) is to be used on community programmes.

SunEdison will retain 51% ownership of the plant, with South African companies retaining 49%.

“OPIC is pleased to be supporting a project that will provide a clean and reliable source of electricity and help stimulate economic development,” said OPIC president and CEO, Elizabeth Littlefield. “Access to a reliable source of energy is essential to addressing a wide range of development challenges from producing food to educating students and building modern infrastructure.”

Pashupathy Gopalan, SunEdison vice president and managing director for South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa said Boshof Solar Park is “a landmark project which will benefit the entire South African economy as it contributes to energy security and creates green jobs throughout the value chain”.

Sundison also has 58MW of other solar projects that have started construction in South Africa and has also received funding from OPIC previously for projects in Chile.

Africa’s largest pension fund, the Government Employees Pension Fund's (GEPF) acting principal officer Joelene Moodley said GEPF is increasing its investment with SunEdison, viewing the Boshof project “as a secure investment for our members and pensioners”. GEPF has nearly doubled investment in SunEdison's South African projects, to ZAR312 million (US$30.8 million) for the Boshof Solar Park.

“We believe this a safe place for us to invest and the project is aligned with GEPF's mandate to back infrastructure projects that promote economic growth and job creation,” Moodley said.

Read Next

September 12, 2025
Colombian energy supplier Celsia is seeking more than US$1.2 billion in investment to build wind and solar generation projects in Peru. 
September 12, 2025
German trade association BSW-Solar has called the German government for a simplified, standardised and more digitalised grid access for solar PV and energy storage operators.
September 12, 2025
ACME Venus Urja has secured INR3.8 billion (US$43 million) to develop and construct a solar-plus-storage project in Barmer, Rajasthan.
Premium
September 12, 2025
Vote Solar's Sean Garren tells PV Tech Premium that Georgia Power's latest IRP is 'skewed so heavily towards fossil fuels'.
September 11, 2025
Founder Group has won a RM10 million (US$2.3 million) engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract for a 30MW solar plant in Malaysia.
September 11, 2025
German renewable energy developer ib vogt has signed a 70MW solar PV virtual power purchase agreement (vPPA) in Romania.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines