South Africa’s biggest private solar-storage project with 660 MWh battery hits financial close

South African independent power producer SOLA Group has reached financial close on its Naos‑1 Hybrid Solar and Battery Project, touted as the country’s first utility‑scale solar PV and battery energy storage project purpose-built for wheeling power to private end-users across the grid.

The project features a 300 MW (435 MWp) solar PV facility colocated with 660 MWh of battery storage and is supported by 25‑year power purchase agreements with Sasol and Air Liquide, two major industrial energy consumers in South Africa.

Developed, designed, implemented, and to be operated by SOLA Group, Naos‑1, located near Viljoenskroon in the Free State province, is the largest privately contracted hybrid renewable energy project to reach financial close in South Africa to date. Construction is underway, with commercial operation targeted for the first half of 2028.

“Naos-1 represents a major step forward for dispatchable renewable energy in South Africa’s private power market, and is the result of our intensive and innovative collaboration with Sasol and Air Liquide over several months”, says Jonathan Skeen, managing director commercial at the SOLA Group. “The project is in line with SOLA’s objectives to convert solar power into affordable on-demand energy for our clients and our target of achieving 2 GW of solar power and 5 GWh of storage by 2030.”

Naos‑1 is the first of several projects the SOLA Group is rolling out. These projects will use battery storage to deliver low-cost, clean energy to South African businesses while actively adapting to changing supply and demand dynamics. The IPP reports a further 600 MW of hybrid solar and battery projects at a highly mature development stage.

The Naos‑1 project brings SOLA’s portfolio of projects in operation and construction to over 1 GW DC, with 600 MW already operational.

South Africa has rapidly become one of Africa’s most active markets for utility-scale battery energy storage systems, driven largely by government-led procurements under the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP) and the growing need for grid flexibility as renewable generation expands.

One notable project procured under BESIPPPP is South Africa’s largest standalone battery energy storage system – the 612 MWh Red Sands BESS. Financial close was reached in mid‑2025, with construction underway, Sungrow supplying the battery technology, and commercial operation expected around 2027.