Eskom Performs Groundbreaking for 75-MW Lethabo Solar Farm

On 27 May 2026, South Africa’s Department of Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Eskom’s 75-MW Lethabo PV project. The solar farm is situated next to the coal-fired Lethabo Thermal Power Station in near Verreniging in Free State, South Africa.

Completion is expected for November 2027, and the solar farm is forecasted to generate 147 GWh of clean energy annually, enough to power 60,000 households. The solar farm will be connected to the national grid via a 4.5-km transmission line.

The funding comes from Eskom and satisfies the conditions set by the National Treasury for debt relief. Actually, Eskom has a pipeline of renewable projects in line with South Africa’s Just Energy Transition (JET). Eskom plans to establish special-purpose vehicles under public-private partnerships in order to leverage blended financing.

The Lethabo project is a pilot for massive co-location drive across Eskom’s network of thermal power plants. Seventeen high-priority renewable energy projects are in the pipeline for roll-out until 2030, adding up to 6 GW of capacity to the grid. By 2040, Eskom hopes to scale up to 32-GW of renewables with storage.