Mooi Plaats Solar PV Facility
-
Mooi Plaats is a large-scale solar PV facility with single-axis tracking technology. The project supplies renewable electricity to Valterra Platinum, Kumba Iron Ore and De Beers, supporting their transition towards lower-carbon operations.
-
Location: Approximately 18.5 km southwest of Noupoort, Northern Cape.
- Offtaker: Valterra Platinum, Kumba Iron Ore and De Beers
- Equity partners: Anglo American, EDF Power Solutions and Pele Energy
- Lenders: Nedbank, ABSA and RMB.
Mooi Plaats forms part of Envusa Energy’s Koruson 2 cluster, a portfolio of renewable energy projects developed to supply multiple industrial customers.
Together, the Mooi Plaats, Umsobomvu, and Hartebeesthoek projects provide:
520 MW of combined renewable generation capacity
The projects connect through the Koruson 400 kV Main Transmission Substation, which was the largest privately constructed transmission facility of its kind in South Africa at the time, designed to integrate up to 1.5 GW of renewable energy.
Commercial Operations: March 2026, with a 20-year operational phase
Capacity: 240 MWac / 283 MWdc across three integrated PV areas — PV1, PV2 and PV3.
The project has potential for future integration of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), subject to available grid capacity.
Highlights
Built for scale
The facility comprises approximately 420 000 Trina Solar modules and 943 string inverters across three solar PV areas.
Using single-axis tracking technology, the facility follows the sun’s movement throughout the day to optimise generation, producing approximately 700 000 MWh of renewable electricity in its first year.
Community Empowerment
The project has supported local economic development through:
• 1 600+ project-related jobs created during construction
• Approximately R20 million invested in socio-economic development initiatives across the Koruson cluster during construction
• Community ownership participation through the Winds of Change Community Trust.