Nkangala Solar Park — Project Overview and Specifications

Let's look at the numbers. The Nkangala Solar Park is a utility-scale hybrid power plant consisting of Solar PV, Wind, and Battery Energy Storage System technologies. The project will be built on Portion 7 and Portion 17 of Elandspruit 291 JS, totaling 275 hectares. The farms were purchased for 6 million Rand in 2023, and Sonani holds the title deeds.

The technical specifications are substantial. The Solar PV facility will be 110 megawatts DC / 90 megawatts AC. The Battery Energy Storage System will have a capacity of 241 megawatt-hours, subject to engineering evaluation. The development may be rolled out in 2 or 4 phases, depending on conclusions with funding entities and contractors. Approximately 70 hectares will be dedicated to Solar PV, 15 hectares to wind turbines, 3 hectares to BESS, and the remainder to roads, switching stations, and even commercial cactus fruit farming and other agricultural projects.

The total estimated CapEx and development cost for the full 140 megawatt facility, including BESS pricing, is approximately 4.4 billion Rand. The current average cost per watt for Solar PV is around 13.50 Rand, with wind at approximately 25.00 Rand per watt.