Eskom is planning to build a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturing facility with the capacity to produce at least 1 gigawatt at one of its sites in Mpumalanga — enough to supply the electricity needs of at least 750,000 homes.The project might see private sector participation. The plan forms part of Eskom’s broader strategy to support localisation of the renewable energy value chain, create green jobs and reduce reliance on imported PV products and components.A gigawatt is a unit of power equal to 1,000MW — or one stage of load shedding.To put the scale of the proposed project in context, Koeberg Nuclear Power Station has a total installed capacity of 1,900MW, Arnot has 2,220MW, Grootvlei has an installed capacity of 1,180MW, Hendrina 1,723MW, and Camden 1,600MW.Eskom’s Camden power station in Ermelo has been identified as the preferred site for the solar PV panel facility.However, this might change as Eskom aims to rope in transaction advisers to co-ordinate and provide technical oversight on the comprehensive feasibility study, business case, commercial structuring and preprocurement preparation for the project.Eskom, in its procurement document looking for a transaction adviser, said the project supports its objective of identifying new productive uses for existing sites and infrastructure, particularly in Mpumalanga.The document says the utility considers there to be a compelling case to explore the feasibility of establishing a fully integrated or phased solar PV manufacturing value chain in South Africa.The work of a transaction adviser will be key in bringing the project to life, with Eskom tasking the successful bidder to prepare a business case, with all supporting analyses, conceptual engineering, commercial and legal-structural frameworks, preprocurement inputs, and transaction support required for the utility to determine whether to proceed with a PV manufacturing facility.“The facility is expected to have a minimum output of 1GW, with potential scalability. The initiative is aimed at supporting the just energy transition (JET), localisation, industrial capability development, supply chain resilience, and sustainable job creation within the South African renewable energy sector,” the tender document reads.“The transaction adviser shall demonstrate the ability to engage with relevant OEMs [original equipment manufacturers], technology providers, industrial players and local manufacturers on a nonexclusive and competition-neutral basis for the purpose of informing technology selection, manufacturability, standards compliance, technology transfer pathways, ownership and partnership structuring and implementation planning.“Participation by OEMs and local manufacturers during the feasibility study shall not in itself confer any preferential position in any subsequent procurement process.”Cabinet last year approved the 2025 integrated resources plan establishing a long-term roadmap for the country’s electricity generation mix to 2039. It outlines a projected investment of about R2.23-trillion and aims in the near term (to 2030) to add about 11,270MW of solar PV energy.One of the key tasks of the transaction adviser will be to assess whether Camden power station should remain the preferred site, a fallback site or a nonpreferred site and set out the technical, commercial, schedule, infrastructure and risk implications thereof.The consultants will be expected to undertake an independent comparative assessment of alternative Eskom sites and recommend the most optimal one for the facility.“The consultant shall develop ownership, partnership, funding and commercial structuring options, including options for OEM participation, local manufacturer participation, technology licensing, strategic partnerships and equity participation pathways,” Eskom’s document reads.“[The consultant shall] undertake valuation of Eskom-contributed assets relevant to any possible JV or structured partnership and explain how that value could be used in contribution mechanics, equity structuring or negotiations.”The power utility is set to retire several coal-fired stations over the next decade. In 2024, Eskom decided to postpone the decommissioning of Camden, Grootvlei and Hendrina to 2030.Camden and Grootvlei were initially slated to be mothballed last year, as was Hendrina. Eskom, under the leadership of Dan Marokane, has committed not to repeat the missteps it took in retiring the Komati power station in 2022, a decommissioning that was not properly planned and executed, leaving coal workers in the area in the lurch.