The Swartland Municipality in the Western Cape has announced plans to procure 10 megawatts of solar photovoltaic (PV) power through a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a NERSA-registered independent power producer (IPP).
The municipality has designated 30 hectares of land in Malmesbury for the development of the solar generation facility. According to Swartland officials, the site is classified as low sensitivity and has been registered under the Exclusion Norms (Government Notice No. 4558 of 27 March 2024), meaning no environmental authorisation is required for the project.
The initiative is part of Swartland’s broader Integrated Development Plan, which highlights the need to improve local energy resilience and reduce reliance on Eskom-supplied electricity.
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Preliminary technical and feasibility studies assessed whether sourcing electricity from an IPP is technically viable and cost-effective. The studies concluded positively, indicating that the project can provide value for money while supporting municipal energy needs. Following these assessments, Swartland Municipality has completed the necessary network and technical evaluations, as well as municipal approval processes, and now plans to move to market.
The municipality intends to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the project during March or April 2026, contingent on the finalisation of all preparatory work.
Prospective bidders will have the opportunity to engage with municipal officials to clarify project requirements after the RFP is released. The project is expected to support local energy security, diversify the municipality’s energy mix, and provide a long-term, stable supply of renewable electricity for municipal operations.
This initiative reflects a growing trend among South African municipalities to leverage independent power producers for local energy projects, particularly in areas where municipal and grid-based power supply is constrained or subject to volatility.
By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around data centers, AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy.
