SunEdison has been awarded an additional five solar PV projects in South Africa, totaling 371MWdc. With the previously won 86MW, the company now has a total of 457MW, six solar power projects in South Africa.

South Africa’s Department of Energy has organized four rounds of bid of the Renewable Energy IPP Procurement (REIPPP) Programme. SunEdison has been awarded an 86MW solar project in the previous phase of the fourth round of the REIPPP Programme. The latest award stems from the extended capacity announcement for the fourth bid round.

The five solar power plants will be located in the Northern Cape and North West Provinces and are expected to produce enough energy to power the equivalent of more than 200,000 South African homes. Eskom, the South African national utility, will purchase the solar energy under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

"Over the past 3 years, SunEdison has had a successful track record delivering highly reliable, affordable solar power to South Africa," said Pashupathy Gopalan, SunEdison president, Asia Pacific. "We selected project sites that strengthen the Eskom grid and distribute project benefits across a range of communities."

SunEdison entered the South African market in 2011 and has developed, constructed and operates 130 MW of utility scale solar power plants. With the 457 MW awarded in the fourth bid round of the REIPPP Programme, SunEdison becomes one of the leading solar energy providers in sub-Saharan Africa.