TotalEnergies to start building 216MW solar plant in SA

TotalEnergies is ready to start construction of a 216MW solar plant with battery storage in South Africa that should be operational in 2025, the company said on Friday.

The project in the Northern Cape achieved financial close on 14 December, TotalEnergies said in a statement.

The France-based energy company owns 35% of the consortium developing the project, with its partners Hydra Storage Holding and Reatile Renewables controlling 35% and 30%, respectively.

Vincent Stoquart, senior vice president for renewables at TotalEnergies, said the hybrid renewables plant, comprising a solar plant and a 500MWh battery storage system, will supply continuous green electricity to the national grid beyond the hours of sunshine.

“This project will not only contribute to the country’s energy transition, but also to strengthening the resilience of its power system,” Stoquart said.

According to power utility Eskom, each megawatt can power 650 average homes, which means TotalEnergies’ planned plant could provide for about 140 000 households.

Bidding rounds

On Thursday, South Africa launched three bidding rounds for 7.6GW of new power generation from renewable energy, natural gas and battery storage, as part of its drive to overcome the electricity crisis that has hit its economy.

To date, 90 renewable energy projects have completed construction and are operational, adding 6.2GW of capacity to the grid, about a quarter of the country’s current demand, energy minister Gwede Mantashe said in a written response to MPs distributed by parliament on Thursday.

Read: Surge in rooftop solar is hurting Eskom

Nine projects representing more than 1GW are currently under construction, he added.  — (c) 2023 Reuters

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