SOLA Group begins construction on landmark hybrid solar and battery project for Sasol and Air Liquide

SOLA Group has achieved financial close on its Naos-1 Hybrid Solar and Battery Project, a 300MW (435MWp) solar PV facility with 660MWh of battery energy storage (BESS).

Enabled by long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Sasol and Air Liquide, the project marks a major milestone in South Africa’s private power market, being the country’s first utility-scale solar PV and battery energy storage project purpose-built for wheeling to private end-users across the grid.

While traditional renewable projects often struggle to meet peak evening demand, Naos-1’s hybrid design allows it to store low-cost solar energy and dispatch it when the grid needs it most. This provides Sasol and Air Liquide with a reliable supply of clean energy at competitive tariffs.

Developed, designed, implemented and to be operated by SOLA Group, Naos-1 is the largest privately contracted hybrid renewable energy project to reach financial close in South Africa to date. The project’s commercial operation date is targeted for 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 2GW of solar power and 5GWh of storage by 2030.”

Supported by South African institutions, including the Development Bank of Southern Africa, and developed in collaboration with Sasol and Air Liquide, Naos-1 (near Viljoenskroon in the Free State) sets a new benchmark for utility-scale solar-plus-storage wheeling to private end-users.

Katherine Persson, managing director of SOLA Assets, notes: “After a much-accelerated PPA negotiation process, reaching financial close on schedule for a project of this scale, novelty and complexity is a further demonstration of SOLA’s unrivalled track record in delivering clean energy to our partners on time and to budget.”

Adds Dr Sarushen Pillay, executive vice-president of Sasol’s Business Building, Strategy and Technology Business: “This project forms part of our broader transformation strategy toward a low-carbon energy portfolio – and this 300MW is a key milestone in advancing our transition toward a sustainable future.”

“This transaction is a major strategic step forward using a hybrid solution to set a new benchmark for reliable, firm renewable energy at scale. It demonstrates our shared sustained commitment with our long-term partner Sasol to decarbonise the world’s largest oxygen production site here in South Africa,” says Nicolas Poirot, Africa, Middle East and India CEO at Air Liquide.

Naos-1 is the first of several projects that the SOLA Group is rolling out, which will use battery storage to deliver low-cost, clean energy to South African businesses while actively adapting to changing supply and demand dynamics.

With a further 600MW of hybrid solar and battery projects at a highly mature development stage, the SOLA Group is proud to stand at the forefront of advancing the modernisation and decarbonisation of the South African power system. The project takes the portfolio of projects in operation and construction to over 1GW DC with 600MW already operational.

Image credit: Ihsaan Haffajee