- Spanish independent power producer (IPP), Sonnedix, has sold it stake in the troubled 75MW Mulilo Sonnedix Prieska solar farm in South Africa to BTE Renewables, who is backed by leading global infrastructure investor Actis.
- The project was reportedly experiencing serious problems due to premature module degradation back in 2020.
- Claims of widespread backsheet failure emerged and it was said that module replacement will be required.
- The modules used in the project were supplied by Chinese manufacturer BYD and South African producer Artsolar.
- Artsola denied any wrong doing on their part at the time. Read more
Sonnedix Solar South Africa owns a 60% interest in Mulilo Sonnedix Prieska PV (RF) Proprietary Limited which in turn owns the solar photovoltaic facility in the Prieska region of the Northern Cape Province in South Africa with a contracted capacity of 75MW (the “Prieska Project”). Sonnedix Solar South Africa also manages the Prieska Project via a management services agreement on behalf of the shareholders.
“We are moving our operations away from South Africa – where we’ve been successfully managing our 86.2MW Sonnedix Prieska project for over five years – in order to align our sustainable growth strategy across OECD markets”, said Axel Thiemann, CEO of Sonnedix. “We take with us the experience of operating in this market and working with a great team of experts, and we’re confident of leaving things in the good hands of a company that’s also committed to further expanding the use of solar.”
The project was developed with South African developer Mulilo Renewable Energy and obscure BBBEE partner, Ixowave Women in Power, and was built for Sonnedix by the juwi Renewable Energies (Pty) Ltd South African subsidiary of the German juwi group.
BET Renewables’ CEO Robert Skjodt said, “This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to growing our African renewable energy asset portfolio, which already includes two solar PV plants in the same area of South Africa, making this a natural fit whilst successfully increasing our operating project portfolio to 473 MW. We look forward to working with our new partners and contributing positively to South Africa’s clean energy production”.
Sonnedix did not reveal the value of the transaction.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
