Infinity Power Partners With AIKO for 773.5 MWp South African Solar Portfolio

AIKO will supply its high-power All Back Contact (ABC) solar modules for three utility-scale solar projects in South Africa under an agreement with Infinity Power, Africa’s largest pure-play renewable energy provider. The deal marks the partners’ first project collaboration in South Africa and takes their combined solar project partnership across the continent beyond 2 GWp.

Under the agreement, AIKO will provide high‑efficiency ABC 1,195,136 modules expected to generate more than 1,871 GWh of annual energy for the 773.5 MWp combined portfolio covering three large‑scale Infinity Power projects — Highveld, Onderstepoort Solar 1 (OS1) and Onderstepoort Solar 2 (OS2). Awarded under Bid Window 7 of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), the projects will operate under planned 20‑year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Eskom and will be built under two EPC packages — Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy on Highveld and PowerChina Guizhou Engineering on the OS1 and OS2.

Located in Mpumalanga, South Africa, once operational, the Highveld project will generate clean energy sufficient to power approximately 167,000 homes, while avoiding approximately 660,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually. Onderstepoort Solar 1 and 2 located in the northwest, are expected to power approximately 289,000 homes and avoid more than 1.1 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, bringing the Infinity Power portfolio’s total estimated annual CO₂ emissions avoided to approximately 1.7 million tonnes, based on public estimates.

Infinity Power was awarded 1.28 GW in solar capacity during this bidding round, the largest allocation among successful bidders in Bid Window 7. As the largest African pure-play renewable energy provider, the company develops, builds and operates large-scale solar and wind projects across the African continent.

Ahmed Zakaria, Director of EPC and Strategic Procurement at Infinity Power, said: “Our decision to partner with AIKO on our South African portfolio based on their capability to meet our technical requirements and reliable delivery commitment we have witnessed across our projects in Egypt. AIKO’s ABC technology delivers the efficiency and execution certainty required to deliver large‑scale projects under the REIPPPP framework, and we look forward to bringing full portfolio into commercial operation.”

AIKO’s ABC modules, AIKO-A645/650-GRH66Dw, were selected on the strength of both performance and execution. With the REIPPPP launched to tackle South Africa’s energy crisis, and tender tariffs falling with each successive round, project economics have become a decisive factor in module selection. The high power output of ABC modules reduces the total module count and balance-of-system (BOS) components such as mounting structures and cabling, lowering overall system costs and keeping projects economically competitive under the auction mechanism.

In South Africa’s high-irradiance, high-temperature conditions, the modules’ superior temperature coefficient maintains more stable power output, lifting energy yield across the project’s full lifecycle, with efficiency reaching up to 24.1%. Low degradation rates (≤1% in the first year, and 0.35% annually from years 2 to 30) secure stable generation throughout the 20-year PPA term, enhancing long-term returns and project bankability. Full traceability across module production and delivery, together with a delivery schedule aligned to the two EPC packages, provides further certainty of execution across the three sites.

The agreement marks AIKO’s first collaboration with Infinity Power in South Africa and their third overall collaboration in Africa, following the 258.5 MWp Nefer Benban and 1.2 GWp Nefer Menya projects in Egypt. With cumulative cooperation now exceeding 2 GWp, the partnership continues to expand, underscoring a global benchmark developer’s sustained confidence in the efficiency and reliability of ABC technology, as well as its recognition of AIKO’s supply capabilities and product quality.

Infinity Power, a joint venture between Infinity and Masdar, is the largest African pure-play renewable energy provider. Infinity Power targets power generation projects in Africa through renewable energy sources, namely solar and wind, as well as other technologies such as battery storage, aiming for 10 GW of operational capacity by 2032.

The company has a substantial operational portfolio of approximately 1.3 GW across Egypt, South Africa and Senegal, helping to avoid over 3 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, alongside 6.3 GW of wind and solar capacity under development, including 3.8 GW in advanced development.

AIKO is a top-ranked solar technology leader specializing in the research, development, and manufacturing of solar generation products. The company offers solar cells, ABC (All Back Contact) modules, and scenario-based packaged solutions. Guided by the mission of “Leading Humanity into the Carbon-Free Era,” AIKO continues to pursue extreme innovation and cutting-edge technology.