South African casino launches rooftop solar plant as big as four rugby fields

Sun International has completed the installation of one of South Africa’s biggest rooftop photovoltaïc (PV) solar plants at the Sibaya Casino & Entertainment Kingdom in Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal.

Installed by LTM Energy Group, Sibaya said the plant set a “new standard” for commercial energy efficiency in the hospitality industry.

The 2.5MWp plant covers about 90% of the facility’s external parking and consists of 4,590 solar panels.

While Sibaya did not specify the size of the area covered, the company said it was roughly the same as four rugby fields.

Rugby fields can vary in size from roughly 7,208m² to 10,080m², meaning the plant could be anywhere between 28,832m² and 40,320m².

The plant will support about 60% of the casino’s electricity demand, with an estimated 3,699GWh of solar production every year.

It cost R54 million and is the hospitality group’s largest investment in green energy to date.

Sibaya’s maintenance manager, Ravin Sahadev, said the aim of the solar plant was to reduce the leisure and hospitality complex’s reliance on diesel and lower additional emissions during load-shedding.

“By doing this, Sibaya not only saves money but also contributes towards Sun International’s environmental strategy which aims to manage energy efficiently and cost-effectively,” Sahadev said.

The facility could potentially be among South Africa’s top five biggest rooftop solar installations by peak capacity.

As of August 2024, the largest rooftop solar plant was Eastgate Shopping Centre’s 7.2MWp facility.

This enormous plant was built by Solareff and consists of 13,675 panels covering 28,100m².

Only three other facilities had more capacity than Sibaya — Boardwalk Inkwazi (6.8MWp), Mall of Africa (4.8MWp), and Clearwater Mall (2.9MWp).

However, many large private solar power projects have come online in recent months, while several more are launching over the coming years.

Green Cape’s Large-Scale Renewable Energy Market Intelligence Report 2025 has forecast that about 6,000MW of new solar PV capacity will be installed by private companies by 2030.

That will roughly double the current capacity of “behind-the-meter” rooftop solar, which is already far greater than utility-scale solar.

The ranking of the largest plants is likely to change regularly in the near future.

Below are more photos from the launch of Sibaya Casino’s 2.5MWp solar plant.