The start of the construction of a 75MW solar power plant at Lethabo Power Station in the Free State Province marks the first step in integrating utility-scale renewable generation within Eskom’s existing coal-fired power station fleet infrastructure.
Once completed, the plant is expected to generate approximately 147GWh of electricity annually, supplying power to an estimated 60,000 households. In addition to its energy contribution, the project will create vital local economic opportunities and contribute significantly to skills development during both the construction and operational phases.
The start of construction was marked by a delegation including Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa; Premier of Free State Province, Maqueen Letsoha–Mathae; Premier of Gauteng Province, Panyaza Lesufi; Executive Mayor of Metsimaholo, Cllr Jack Malindi; Executive Mayor of the Midvaal Local Municipality, Cllr Peter Teixeira; Eskom’s Board Chairman, Mteto Nyati; Eskom’s Group Chief Executive, Dan Marokane; Eskom Group Executive for Generation, Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom Group Executive for Renewables, Rivoningo Mnisi; Eskom’s Lethabo Power Station General Manager, Karabo Rakgolela and members of the Eskom Board.
“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,” said Eskom’s Group Chief Executive, Dan Marokane.
“We are playing our part in bringing online the new generation capacity required by focusing on the deep technical and institutional capability of our employees, built over decades of public investment, that remains a critical part of our national capacity towards delivering cleaner sources of energy,” concluded Marokane.
“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.
“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,” concluded Nxumalo.
“The Lethabo solar power plant represents a significant milestone in Eskom Green’s renewable energy pipeline and forms part of the utility’s broader strategy to diversify the generation mix, support South Africa’s Just Energy Transition objectives and provide customers with lower carbon electricity,” said Eskom’s Group Executive for Renewables, Rivoningo Mnisi.
“By leveraging existing power station infrastructure, this project demonstrates the practical integration of renewable energy technology within our existing coal-fired power station fleet infrastructure and signals Eskom’s continued commitment to strengthening security of supply while transitioning toward a lower-carbon future,” Mnisi concluded.
Renewable energy pipeline
The Lethabo 75MW Solar power project forms part of Eskom’s broader pipeline of renewable energy and storage initiatives currently under development. It is one of 17 high‑priority projects that will be implemented across Eskom’s existing coal‑fired power station footprint, with construction expected to commence between now and 2028. Collectively, these projects are expected to deliver approximately 6GW of new capacity by 2030.
These developments will be strategically located at power stations including Arnot, Duvha, Majuba, Tutuka, Lethabo, Komati, Kendal, Kusile, Hendrina, Camden and Grootvlei, leveraging existing infrastructure to accelerate deployment, reduce costs and strengthen 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 progressing during 2026. Funding for these projects has been provisioned within Eskom’s approved capital expenditure program and will be financed through on‑balance sheet funding, in line with National Treasury debt relief conditions, without reliance on additional project finance borrowing.
Utility-scale green electrons
Beyond the initial repurposing and repowering pipeline to be built within Eskom’s existing power station infrastructure, Eskom Green will adopt a proactive growth strategy that extends beyond Eskom-owned land and existing decommissioning sites. While these anchor projects provide a critical foundation, Eskom Green’s long-term value creation requires expanding into new geographic and technological opportunities.
To this end, Eskom Green will actively pursue partnerships, co-development opportunities and strategic acquisitions of advanced-stage development projects and operating renewable assets located in high-resource areas with superior wind and solar irradiation.
This approach enables Eskom Green to optimise its generation portfolio, diversify its revenue base, and ensure alignment with customer load profiles by balancing technologies such as pumped-storage, wind, PV, BESS and other alternatives such as green hydrogen.
Eskom Green will provide a fit-for-purpose structure to facilitate utility-scale renewables through public-private partnerships, leveraging Eskom’s existing footprint and system knowledge. The proposed funding framework ensures limited recourse to the Eskom balance sheet using project finance principles for the renewable energy projects through dedicated project Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs). This will lead to the advancement of Eskom’s pipeline of more than 32GW of cost-competitive renewable energy and storage projects by 2040 to diversify its energy mix as part of the emissions reduction strategy and enable customers to decarbonise over the life of their operations.
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