Rheinmetall plans to build solar panel factory in SA

German industrial group Rheinmetall plans to build its first  plant in SA to produce photovoltaic (PV) panels for the power-deprived local market, a company executive said on Thursday.

The decline of debt-crippled state utility Eskom has this year led to the worst power cuts on record in Africa’s most industrialised economy. This week, most South Africans have been without power for at least six hours a day.

The outages have spurred demand for solar power systems. SA imported solar PV panels worth nearly R2.2bn in the first five months of this year alone, mostly from China.

Rheinmetall’s facility will have initial annual capacity to produce panels with total generating capacity of at least 500MW, said Jan-Patrick Helmsen, CEO of the company’s SA unit Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM).

“The reason we are doing this is to have independent local production. Energy is a strategic asset for national security,” he said on the sidelines of a German-African business conference in Johannesburg.

He said it was too early to state Rheinmetall’s total investment in the project, but the company hoped to launch production of panels within the next year.

SA requires 4GW to 6GW of additional production to end power cuts.

The government has relaunched a drive to attract private investment in industrial-scale renewables projects to boost production capacity. It also loosened regulations on self-generation earlier this year, removing a cap on the amount of power businesses and individuals can produce before seeking government approval.

Helmsen said Rheinmetall would initially focus on producing PV panels for industrial clients in SA before a possible expansion to residential customers and exports to the wider Southern African regional market.

Reuters