JA Solar has been awarded as the sole supplier for its Orange Solar Project which is to build an 86MW utility-scale solar farm starting 2017.
The ORANGE project is a part of the so-called 4.5th round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPP) launched by the South African government in 2011. The REIPPP initially planned five rounds of bidding, but has been extended by another two rounds (the 4.5th and 4.75th rounds) in order to meet the high demand for local new energy development from various provinces. Together with two South African partners, Solar Capital (Pty) Ltd. and Black Enterprise Empowerment (BEE), JA Solar successfully won the bidding as the sole module supplier for this Orange project. The construction of the solar farm will start in 2017 using JA Solar's high efficiency P310W multi-crystalline silicon modules, and is expected to be completed within the same year.
Solar Capital (Pty) Ltd., based in Cape Town, is one of the most successful South African PV farm developers. The company was awarded a 90MW solar farm project in the first round of the REIPPP and an 86MW PV farm in the second round. Mr. Paschal Phelan, Chairman of Solar Capital, was very pleased with the success of winning the bidding of another 86-MW project this round, and expressed the strong desire to continue its cooperation with JA Solar in the 4.75th and 5th rounds of bidding.
Mr. Jian Xie, President of JA Solar, commented, "We are honored to be awarded the winning bid in this round and are very proud of being the exclusive module supplier for this 86MW project. This achievement is another testament to the global recognition of JA's products, and is a new milestone in our global market expansion efforts. There are many more such opportunities for JA as Africa continues to develop. With our high-performance PV modules capable of greatly reducing the per-watt cost of electricity, JA is well positioned to provide assistance to South Africa for overcoming its energy shortage as the nation grows."