Voltalia’s Bolobedu Solar Farm Starts Supplying Power to National Grid in Landmark RBM Deal

The Bolobedu Solar Farm in rural north-eastern Limpopo has entered commissioning, marking another step in South Africa’s accelerating shift towards utility-scale private renewable energy and corporate power procurement.

Developed by French independent power producer Voltalia in partnership with mining group Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), the 148MW facility has begun delivering initial power into the national grid. Once fully operational, the project will supply electricity exclusively to RBM under a long-term wheeling arrangement via the Eskom transmission network.

Commissioned following a 2022 agreement, the solar plant is designed to power RBM’s mining and refining operations in KwaZulu-Natal, several hundred kilometres from the generation site. Over its 20-year contract term, it is expected to deliver around 300GWh of renewable electricity annually, reducing RBM’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 10%, or approximately 237,000 tonnes of CO₂ each year.

The project reflects a growing trend in South Africa’s energy landscape, where large industrial users are increasingly turning to independent power producers to secure reliable, lower-carbon electricity amid grid constraints and decarbonisation pressures.

RBM Managing Director Werner Duvenhage described commissioning as a defining milestone, coinciding with 50 years of the company’s operations in South Africa.

Construction was undertaken with participation from Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) partners, while around 800 local residents were employed during the build phase. Voltalia also implemented training programmes in solar installation, engineering support, and health and safety disciplines to strengthen local skills development.

Electricity generated at Bolobedu will be transmitted through the national grid before being wheeled to RBM’s operations, illustrating the increasing importance of transmission access in enabling inland renewable projects to serve distant industrial customers.

The development forms part of a broader pipeline of large-scale renewable projects across the country. These include Scatec’s Kenhardt hybrid project in the Northern Cape, which combines 540MW of solar with 225MW of battery storage, and NOA Group’s Khauta solar PV facility in the Free State, expected to exceed 500MW in capacity.

Together, these projects highlight the rapid expansion of corporate-led renewable energy investment in South Africa, driven by long-term power purchase agreements, wheeling frameworks and the urgent need for industrial decarbonisation.