Maxion Wheels Factory In South Africa Gets Solar To Cut Costs

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Maxion Wheels, the producer and supplier of wheels for passenger and commercial vehicles, and Terra Firma, one of South Africa’s leading commercial and industrial (C&I) solar and storage solutions providers, recently announced that a 2.9 MWp solar project powering Maxion’s manufacturing plant in Johannesburg is now live. The energisation was celebrated at Maxion Wheels South Africa’s 60th anniversary event.

The solar plant was installed in a carport and ground mount solar configuration. This 2.9 MWp plant will supply electricity to meet approximately 20% of the facility’s annual energy needs, reducing Maxion’s reliance on the national grid and providing protection against energy-related tariff increases. South Africa’s electricity tariff have been on an upward trajectory over the past 20 years or so. The plant will also reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 5,100 tonnes per year. A second phase of additional rooftop solar capacity is scheduled for completion in Q1 2026, with the possibility of integrating a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for energy arbitrage and backup power.

The South African Automotive Council, naamsa, says South Africa’s automotive industry contributes 5.3% of GDP and supports over 500,000 jobs across the value chain. With the sector facing increasing pressure due to global trade barriers, growing competition, and decarbonisation requirements, operators in the automotive business have to look at unlocking operational efficiencies. For manufacturers such as Maxion Wheels, electricity is one of the largest input costs due to energy-intensive processes. Therefore managing energy spend is critical to maintaining competitiveness. The rapid advancements in the solar industry over the past decade have resulted in the cost of solar dropping drastically to record lows. That means solar power now offers an accessible solution that enables manufacturers to reduce and manage costs, improve resilience, and reduce climate impact.

A lot of progress has been made in the solar industry since 2015. This timeline corresponds to the time I first got involved in the commercial and & industrial solar sector in South Africa. Around 2015, I joined a company that was one of the first to really offer long-term PPAs for the C&I sector in East and Southern Africa. Around 2015, the effective price per kWh of grid-tied solar for 15 to 20 year PPAs (without storage) was at best close to parity with customers’ actual blended energy costs. By blended energy cost, I mean the weighted price per kWh from all their energy sources including electricity from the grid plus from the backup diesel generator. Diesel generators were used quite frequently in a number of markets due to frequent power outages. The fully installed cost/W of solar is a major driver of the final PPA price per kWh. And in 2015, the price of solar panels was over 60 cents/W. Now, 10 years later, solar panels are going for less than 12 cents/W in a number of markets, and this along with similar cost reductions for the full bill of quantities on a fully installed system now allows the price per kWh in those PPAs to be way lower than the blended tariff and even way lower than the grid tariff on its own.

By displacing a significant portion of their daytime consumption from the grid with lower cost solar, companies are now reaping the benefits of all this progress in the solar industry. Maxion’s Johannesburg factory produces high-precision aluminium wheels for major automotive OEM customers in South Africa. Globally, Maxion, the manufacturer of steel and aluminium wheels, produces approximately 50 million wheels per year across its 31 locations on five continents. Maxion South Africa says given the plant’s intensive industrial processes, continuous uptime is mission-critical for Maxion. Therefore, power uptime is a prerequisite. The plant relies on extensive machinery, including various robots, integrated foundry systems, and automated conveyor networks operating around the clock. The addition of the solar plant, ensuring continuous power supply while meeting strict health, safety, and operational standards at every step of the solar project deployment process, was a priority.

Terra Firma says under a comprehensive multi-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) the company developed, designed, engineered, and installed the project, and will manage and maintain it for its lifetime. The PPA delivery model offers the cost and GHG emission reduction benefits of solar power, without the capital expenditures or risks of ownership. Terra Firma has executed over 500 projects in South Africa and the region.

“The 60th anniversary of Maxion Wheels South Africa is an opportunity to celebrate our legacy of manufacturing excellence while looking ahead to how we can continue strengthening our leadership and resilience for decades to come,” said Milos Despotovic, Managing Director, Maxion Wheels South Africa. “Integrating renewable energy into our operations marks a significant milestone in our Roadmap Zero strategy towards net-zero emissions by 2040, and reinforces our position as a global leader in advanced manufacturing.” ‌

“We thank Maxion Wheels for entrusting Terra Firma as their energy partner to bring this project to life,” said Grant Berndsen, CEO, Terra Firma. “Together, we’re demonstrating how solar power helps enable long-term sustainability, resilience and global competitiveness for South Africa’s automotive manufacturing sector.”

Thanks to all this progress in the global solar sector, South Africa’s solar sector especially the residential and C&I sector has been booming. You can see how much the annual solar landscape has evolved in South Africa since 2016 below.

There is more good news from the rest of the African continent. Several countries on the African continent are now going solar in a big way! Over the last 12 months, imports from China rose 60% to 15,032 MW. The market is not driven by subsidies, rebates, or any other incentives from governments. The growth has been driven by private corporation such as Maxion Wheels, residential solar, and some utility-scale projects. The main driver has been companies and homes seeking to reduce their energy bills. As the business case for going solar keeps getting better every day, more companies and businesses will go solar. Solar minigrid projects to help increase access to electricity will also become more commercially viable, helping tackle one of the biggest challenges the world faces today, which is over 1 billion people still not having access to electricity.

Image courtesy of Maxion Wheels and Terra Firma