Exxaro expands renewable energy with R1.7bn solar plant — its first in Lephalale

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Diversified miner Exxaro, through its renewable energy business Cennergi, has opened its first solar plant in Lephalale to supply electricity to the Grootegeluk coal mine, expanding the group’s renewable energy portfolio. The R1.7bn Lephalale Solar Project will supply renewable electricity directly to the mine under a 25-year power purchase agreement. Exxaro said the 68MW solar photovoltaic plant is expected to generate about 176GWh of electricity a year and reduce Grootegeluk’s electricity costs by more than R100m annually.Speaking at the official opening on Wednesday, Exxaro CEO Ben Magara said the company aims to expand renewable electricity generation across all its coal mining operations by 2030.Read: Exxaro CEO bets on manganese, renewables to drive growthMagara said Cennergi already has almost 500MW of renewable energy capacity from wind and solar projects and expects this to increase to almost 1,000MW by the end of next year, before reaching about 1,600MW by 2030.He said Exxaro plans to build a 100MW battery energy storage system alongside the Lephalale solar plant and is planning a second phase of the project, although no timeline or investment details were disclosed.“By reducing electricity costs by over R100m annually, the project demonstrates that decarbonisation also makes sound business sense,” said Magara.Construction of the project began in August 2023, with the plant exporting its first renewable electricity to Grootegeluk in December 2025.The facility comprises 129,024 solar panels installed across 185ha near the mine and has been licensed for future integration with a battery energy storage system.The solar project adds to Cennergi’s renewable energy portfolio, which includes two operational wind farms, one wind project under construction and two others that have not yet reached financial close.Grootegeluk is Exxaro’s largest coal mining operation. It supplies coal to Eskom’s Matimba and Medupi power stations, which together provide more than 8GW of baseload generation. It produces metallurgical coal, semi-soft coking coal and export-grade thermal coal.Located in the Waterberg coalfield, Grootegeluk is Exxaro’s only mining operation in the region and is central to the company’s long-term coal business.