South Africa’s capital Cape Town has announced plans to develop a solar-plus-storage project.
The project comes at a time when the city aims to move away from grid operator Eskom reliance and towards a load-shedding-free state.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced that the city will design, build and operate a solar PV plant with battery storage with the investment of 1.2 billion Rand (US$65 million), the official statement reads.
It has been informed that the Paardevlei project will have a total capacity of around 60MW of renewable energy. The project is part of a 500MW renewable energy procurement from independent power producers.
“This project is another critical step in our journey away from Eskom reliance and towards a load-shedding-free Cape Town. We are confident that Cape Town will be the first metro to free our economy from power disruptions, and ensure a green and just energy transition,” Mayor Hill-Lewis was quoted.
As per the authority, a feasibility study for the project will be ready by the end of this year while commissioning of the project is likely in mid-2026.
The project will receive financial support by the C40 Cities Finance Facility (CFF) initiative, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Government of the UK and the Agence Française de Development (AFD).
