Construction crews broke ground this week on the Bela Bela solar photovoltaic project in Limpopo province, South Africa. Sturdee Energy leads development of the 120-megawatt facility, set to deliver first power by late 2025. The plant sits on 208 hectares near the town of Bela Bela, harnessing direct sunlight to generate clean electricity.
Pan African Resources, a gold miner operating mines across the Witwatersrand, signed the power purchase agreement. The plant will wheel 100 megawatts directly to their Barberton complex via Eskom’s grid, slashing reliance on the state utility’s erratic supply. Pan African plans to secure another 330 megawatts from independent producers, aiming for full self-sufficiency across its South African assets.
South Africa’s energy system teeters on collapse. Eskom, saddled with debt exceeding R400 billion and coal plants averaging 55 years old, enforces load shedding that has erased 1,200 gigawatt-hours since 2007, equivalent to building 20 new Kusile power stations. Mining, which guzzles 28% of national electricity, loses R225 million daily to blackouts. Gold output dropped 5% last year; jobs hang by a thread.
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This project exposes the rot. Miners once begged Eskom for mercy; now they bypass it entirely. Wheeling agreements, legalized in 2021, let private generators use transmission lines for a fee. Bela Bela marks one of the first large-scale executions. Solar costs have plunged 89% since 2010, undercutting Eskom’s tariffs by half. No fuel risks, no breakdowns, just panels and inverters delivering 24% capacity factor in Limpopo’s sunbelt.
Pan African’s move forces Eskom to adapt or atrophy. Other miners Anglo American, Harmony follow suit with their own bids. By 2030, private generation could hit 20 gigawatts, per the Department of Mineral Resources. Government scrapped the 100-megawatt licensing cap in 2023, but red tape lingers: environmental approvals drag 18 months.
South Africa faces a binary choice, cling to Eskom’s corpse, and the economy contracts another 2% in 2025, per the IMF. Embrace private renewables, and mining rebounds, exports climb, blackouts fade. One plant powers 100,000 homes or a mine’s drills nonstop.
By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around data centers, AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy.
