South Africa has taken another step towards strengthening its renewable energy capacity
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South Africa has taken another step towards strengthening its renewable energy capacity with the commissioning of what TotalEnergies says is Africa's largest hybrid solar and battery energy storage project in the Northern Cape.
The project was launched by TotalEnergies in partnership with Hydra Storage Holdings and Reatile Renewables in De Aar in the Northern Cape on Thursday and forms of the government's Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP).
The RMIPPPP was launched by the government to address electricity shortages by bringing additional generation capacity onto the national grid. The programme supports projects that can provide reliable power while helping South Africa transition towards a more diverse and cleaner energy mix.
The Hydra project combines a 216MW solar photovoltaic plant with a 500MWh battery energy storage system, allowing renewable electricity to be supplied to the national grid.
The facility is expected to generate more than 400GWh of electricity annually, enough to supply the equivalent of around 200,000 South African households. Under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Eskom, the project will deliver 75MW of dispatchable renewable energy between 5am and 9:30pm.
The project is said to have created around 1600 during the construction phase and is expected to create around 60 permanent jobs during operation.
TotalEnergies Southern Africa Managing Director Magali Pailhé said the project would strengthen South Africa's energy security.
"It enables us to supply dispatchable renewable power to the South African grid, thereby strengthening the country's energy security while decarbonising its electricity generation," she said.
The Northern Cape has become the country's renewable energy hub because of its high solar irradiation and available land, attracting billions of rand in investment through successive renewable energy procurement programmes.
Executive Mayor of the Emthanjeni Local Municipality, Gladwell Nkumbi, said the Hydra project shows the area's growing role in South Africa's renewable energy sector.
"You can see there is development taking place to strengthen the country's electricity supply", Nkumbi said.
"There is a clear commitment to improving stability in the electricity sector, and we, as Emthanjeni, are proud to be among the communities hosting these energy plants. That is an important part of our history".
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