South Africa’s National Energy Regulator (NERSA) has approved generation licences for four utility-scale solar photovoltaic projects, clearing more than 1GW of new installed capacity for construction under Bid Window 7.3 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
The decision, taken at an Energy Regulator meeting on 30 June 2026 and announced on 7 July 2026, marks the third tranche of solar approvals to emerge from the programme’s seventh bidding round and pushes the round’s total solar allocation to close to 5GW.
The four projects will deliver a combined contracted capacity of 890MW to the national grid from a total installed capacity of just over 1,049MW, once built.
Three of the projects belong to Cape Town-based independent power producer Red Rocket SA, while the fourth is being developed by French energy major Engie.
The Four Approved Projects
The licensed projects span Mpumalanga and the Free State, two provinces that have become anchor points for South Africa’s utility-scale solar pipeline thanks to strong irradiance and improving grid evacuation capacity:
| Project | Developer | Location | Installed / Contracted Capacity | Province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sculptor Energy | Red Rocket SA | Mpumalanga | 278.3 MW installed / 240 MW contracted | Mpumalanga |
| Springhaas Solar Facility 1 | Red Rocket SA | Free State | 277.1 MW installed / 240 MW contracted | Free State |
| Springhaas Solar Facility 6 | Red Rocket SA | Free State | 205.9 MW installed / 170 MW contracted | Free State |
| Corona Energy | Engie | Free State | 288 MW installed / 240 MW contracted | Free State |
Source: NERSA generation licence approvals, 7 July 2026; developer capacity filings.
Regulatory Process and Approval Criteria
NERSA received licence applications for all four projects on 23 January 2026 and opened the standard public participation process required under South African electricity regulation.
A virtual public hearing was scheduled for 7 May 2026, but was cancelled after no objections were lodged and no members of the public registered to participate.
Before granting approval, the regulator carried out a detailed assessment of each project against technical, financial, economic, legal and regulatory criteria.
NERSA concluded that all four applications fully complied with the requirements, clearing the way for construction to proceed once commercial and financial close conditions under the REIPPPP contracts are met.
NERSA said the approvals would contribute to strengthening South Africa’s electricity generation capacity and support broader national development goals, including job creation, local industrial development, and expanded opportunities for economic ownership in the energy sector.
Part of a Growing Bid Window 7 Pipeline
Bid Window 7 was first opened to the market in December 2023, targeting 5,000MW split between 3,200MW of onshore wind and 1,800MW of solar PV.
When preferred bidders were first announced in December 2024, solar PV was heavily oversubscribed while wind attracted comparatively few compliant bids — a pattern that has now repeated across successive REIPPPP rounds due to grid connection constraints in high-potential wind corridors.
With no onshore wind projects meeting the bar for preferred bidder status in that initial round, the Department of Electricity and Energy opted to reallocate roughly 2,270MW of unused wind capacity to solar.
That decision has driven two further waves of solar approvals: six additional preferred bidders named in July 2025, and a further four in December 2025, ahead of this latest NERSA licensing round.
Taken together, the solar allocation awarded under Bid Window 7 — across all three tranches — now stands at close to 5GW, effectively absorbing the capacity originally earmarked for wind.
Construction and Industry Implications
For contractors, EPC firms and equipment suppliers serving South Africa’s renewables sector, the NERSA approvals signal four confirmed construction-ready sites moving toward financial close and civil works.
Utility-scale solar builds of this scale typically require extensive earthworks, access road construction, foundation and racking installation, substation works, and grid interconnection infrastructure — creating a pipeline of opportunity for regional civil contractors, geotechnical specialists and heavy equipment rental operators in Mpumalanga and the Free State.
The projects also add to demand for balance-of-plant components, transformers and racking systems at a time when South Africa’s solar PV capacity has already crossed roughly 6.3GW nationally after around 1.6GW was added in 2025, with rooftop and commercial-and-industrial solar accounting for more than 59% of that installed base against a government target of 20GW by 2030.
Red Rocket SA, which leads three of the four newly licensed projects, has been one of the most active developers across recent REIPPPP rounds, having also secured 590MW across three additional projects in the July 2025 reallocation tranche.
Engie’s Corona Energy project extends the French utility’s existing South African renewables footprint into the Free State.
What Happens Next
With generation licences now in hand, the four projects move toward commercial and financial close under their 20-year power purchase agreements with Eskom, the standard REIPPPP structure.
NERSA has indicated that detailed reasons for its decision, along with the formal licence documentation, will be published on its website in due course.
CCE News will continue to track construction milestones, contractor appointments and grid connection progress for all four projects as South Africa works to close its persistent generation gap while meeting its Paris Agreement climate commitments.
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