Suntech South Africa facility on hold for fourth round REIPPPP announcement

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Chinese manufacturer Suntech has confirmed that a proposed new manufacturing facility in South Africa remains on hold until details of the fourth round of the country’s national renewable energy programme are finalised.

The company has told PV Tech that it is still considering establishing the facility, but is awaiting clarification of the local content rules in the fourth round of the renewable energy independent power producer programme (REIPPPP) before proceeding.

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

An announcement of successful bidders in the latest round of South Africa’s flagship programme has been on hold since late November 2014 when it had widely been expected. Concerns have been raised that the ongoing delay will dampen the appetite for investing in South Africa.

In a statement to PV Tech, Joy Zheng, Suntech's Africa and South Asia director, said it was still considering a plan revealed last year to establish a manufacturing hub in South Africa and had researched several potential sites.

She said that although a round-four announcement was expected “soon”, its final decision was subject to the local content rules specified when the round-four bidders are published.

Wido Schnabel, spokesman for South African Photovoltaic Industry Association said there were concerns that some developers in the first three rounds of the REIPPP had sidestepped local content rules. He said SAPVIA was looking for local content guidelines for the fourth round to be clarified.

Zheng said South Africa remained Suntech's “target market” in Africa, but she mentioned Nigeria and Kenya as African markets the company was looking at.  

“We’re hoping the dynamic changes in oil prices will affect the government decision-makers in both Nigeria and Kenya, allowing for greater solar development,” Zheng said.

Suntech supplied 100MW of modules for the De Aar and Droogfontein PV projects built by Mainstream Renewable Power under round one of the REIPPPP. Both plants were opened last year.

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