South Africa’s state-owned power utility, Eskom, has begun construction of a $73 million (R1.2 billion) 75MW solar power plant at its Lethabo power station in the Free State, marking the company’s first utility-scale renewable energy project to be built on the footprint of an existing coal-fired station.
The plant, expected to generate 147GWh of electricity annually — enough to supply about 60,000 households — was flagged off on Wednesday during a ceremony attended by South Africa’s Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Eskom board chairman Mteto Nyati and group chief executive Dan Marokane, among others.
The solar plant forms part of Eskom’s broader plan to diversify its coal-powered electricity generation system. Eskom currently accounts for about 90 percent of South Africa’s electricity supply and produces nearly 30 percent of the electricity consumed across Africa.
The Lethabo Solar Power Project
The 75MW Lethabo Solar Power Project is part of Eskom’s wider pipeline of renewable energy and storage projects currently under development across South Africa. The project is one of 17 high-priority energy developments expected to be rolled out across Eskom’s coal-fired power station sites between now and 2028.
Collectively, the projects are projected to add about 6GW of new electricity generation capacity to South Africa’s grid by 2030. The developments will be located across existing power station sites including Arnot, Duvha, Majuba, Tutuka, Lethabo, Komati, Kendal, Kusile, Hendrina, Camden and Grootvlei. Eskom said the strategy is designed to leverage existing transmission infrastructure, grid connections and operational capacity to accelerate deployment while reducing costs and improving grid resilience.
The Lethabo project also forms part of Eskom’s construction-ready pipeline of at least 2GW of renewable energy and pumped storage projects expected to progress during 2026. According to the utility, funding for the projects has already been included in its approved capital expenditure programme and will be financed through on-balance sheet funding in line with South Africa’s National Treasury debt relief conditions, without relying on additional project finance borrowing.
Speaking on the development, Eskom Group CEO Dan Marokane said the utility’s recent improvement in electricity supply stability has created room for the integration of renewable energy into the national grid.
“Last week we celebrated 365 days without loadshedding, as a result of the focused delivery over the past three years of the generation recovery plan by our skilled employees. Now that we have delivered a stable electricity platform for the South African economy to grow from, we can seamlessly enable the integration of renewable energy sources as required by the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to maintain future energy security,” Marokane said.
The Lethabo project represents the first renewable energy facility Eskom has physically begun constructing on the site of one of its coal-fired stations, even as the utility targets more than 32GW of renewable energy and storage projects by 2040.
South Africa’s push toward greener energy
South Africa’s electricity sector remains heavily dependent on coal-fired generation despite increasing efforts to diversify the country’s energy mix. According to Eskom’s August 2024 power generation fact sheet, the country operates 15 active coal-fired power stations with a combined generation capacity of approximately 45,310MW.
- Coal currently contributes more than 85 percent of South Africa’s total electricity generation capacity of over 53,000MW, making it the dominant source of power in Africa’s most industrialised economy.
- Beyond coal, gas-fired power stations contribute around 2,426MW through four quick-reaction turbine plants, while nuclear energy contributes about 1,934MW from the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, the only operational nuclear power facility in Africa.
As part of efforts to gradually reduce dependence on coal, Eskom has increasingly turned toward renewable and alternative energy projects while maintaining existing baseload generation infrastructure.
“Bringing this solar plant into the Lethabo Power Station site affirms our deliberate strategy to optimise existing assets while accelerating new lower-carbon generation capacity,” said Eskom’s Group Executive for Generation, Bheki Nxumalo.
Nxumalo added that the utility intends to maintain coal-fired generation as a stabilising force for the national grid while integrating renewable capacity into existing power station sites.
“Our coal-fired operations remain central to grid stability, and we are strengthening that foundation by integrating renewable capacity on the same footprint. By leveraging established transmission infrastructure, grid connections and deep operational expertise, we can deploy new generation at pace and at scale, without compromising system reliability. This is how we build forward by maintaining a strong, stable baseload while systematically expanding South Africa’s energy mix,” he said.
The renewable push comes as Eskom also explores other long-term energy diversification options. On May 20, TechMedia Africa reported that the utility had entered early discussions with the World Bank over possible funding support for a proposed 5.2GW nuclear power expansion programme aimed at strengthening South Africa’s long-term electricity supply and reducing reliance on coal-fired generation.
