What Lilitha Solar PV Bursary Is Actually Offering
Lilitha Solar PV is a solar energy facility operating in and around De Aar in the Northern Cape's Emthanjeni Local Municipality. This bursary is the facility's community reinvestment in tertiary education for residents of De Aar and the surrounding 50-kilometre radius.
The programme funds full-time undergraduate studies at suitably accredited public South African institutions — FETCs, Universities of Technology, and academic universities. Field of study is unrestricted, and the bursary value is individually determined, covering tuition fees, registration and examination fees, accommodation, meals, and learning materials.
The combined household gross income ceiling is R600,000 per annum. Where applicants display equal academic excellence, financial need determines the final award — making comprehensive income documentation as strategically important as your academic record.
Like other community renewable energy bursaries, allocations are limited by annual budget availability — meaning the total number of awards varies year to year.
It is worth noting that De Aar is also the location of the Sibona Ilanga Trust Bursary (De Aar Solar Power Plant). Students from the De Aar area may qualify for both programmes — check your eligibility for each and apply to both if you do.
Is This Right for You?
Apply if you are:
A South African citizen living in De Aar or within 50 kilometres of De Aar
A current tertiary student or planning to commence studies in 2027
Enrolled at or applying to a suitably accredited public South African institution — FETCs, Universities of Technology, and universities
From a household with a combined gross annual income not exceeding R600,000
Able to demonstrate financial need — this is the deciding factor when academic performance is equal across applicants
Applying for studies at a public institution only — unlike some other community energy bursaries, private institutions are not covered here
Do not waste your time applying if:
You do not live in De Aar or within 50km of De Aar — this is the non-negotiable geographic requirement
Your combined household gross income exceeds R600,000 per annum
You are not a South African citizen
You are targeting a private tertiary institution — only suitably accredited public institutions qualify under this programme
Your application is incomplete in any way
Why This Bursary Is Worth Pursuing
De Aar is a railway junction town in the heart of the Karoo — a community with deep historical roots in South Africa's transport infrastructure and a contemporary identity increasingly shaped by renewable energy development. The Northern Cape's solar irradiation levels are among the highest in the world, making De Aar and its surroundings a prime location for solar investment. Lilitha Solar PV is one of several facilities in the region converting that solar resource into both energy and community benefit.
For De Aar residents, the combination of Lilitha Solar PV and Sibona Ilanga Trust bursaries creates a genuinely meaningful funding ecosystem. Two community energy programmes, both targeting the same geographic area, both administered through Study Trust, both open from June to September — this is a level of concentrated community bursary access that most South African towns do not have.
The R600,000 income ceiling captures the De Aar middle-income family that earns too much for NSFAS but struggles to self-fund tertiary costs in a context where local economic opportunities are limited. For these families, Lilitha's individually determined bursary can make the difference between a child staying in the community without a qualification and a young person completing a degree or diploma that transforms their economic trajectory.
The window opens 1 June. If you are from De Aar or within 50km, prepare your documents now and apply on day one.
How to Apply
Confirm your residence in De Aar or within 50km of De Aar, and gather proof of address
Confirm your target institution is a suitably accredited public South African institution
Click on the 'Apply' button below
Complete the online application between 1 June and 30 September 2026
Upload all required certified documents: South African ID, Grade report or full tertiary academic record, proof of De Aar area residence, and proof of combined household income not exceeding R600,000 per annum
Submit as early as possible — budget availability limits total awards
Also, check your eligibility for the Sibona Ilanga Trust Bursary — another De Aar community bursary you may qualify for simultaneously.