Cape Town invests in PV-plus-storage project to decouple from South African grid’s load-shedding

By Cameron Murray
April 19, 2023
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Cape Town at night. South Africa suffers from widespread and frequent grid outages as operator Eskom struggles with reliability. Image: Martie Stewart / Flickr.

A solar-plus-storage project is being planned for the capital of South Africa, as the city looks to move “away from Eskom reliance and towards a load-shedding-free Cape Town”, its Mayor said.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced that the city would design, build and operate a solar PV plant with battery storage to the tune of 1.2 billion Rand (US$65 million). The Paardevlei project near Somerset West will “yield up to 60MW of renewable energy” although the official size of the either portion was not revealed.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

A media statement did say that the project would protect the city against one full stage of load shedding from grid operator Eskom. It is part of a 500MW renewable energy procurement from independent power producers (200MW of which will conclude in 2023), the third phase of a broader effort to protect the city from load shedding.

A feasibility study for the project will now be undertaken, to be completed by the end of the year with commissioning of the project planned for August 2026.

To read the full version of this story, visit Energy-Storage.news.

Read Next

March 19, 2026
South African independent power producer (IPP) Anthem has begun construction on a 475MW solar PV project, the “largest” single-phase solar site in South Africa.
March 19, 2026
PV manufacturer Canadian Solar’s first US-made solar cells are expected to be produced by the end of March in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
March 19, 2026
Sunraycer Renewables has broken ground at a portfolio of three solar-plus-storage projects in the US state of Texas.
March 18, 2026
The average price of a power purchase agreement (PPA) signed in Europe in February fell 6.4% from the previous month, according to Pexapark.
March 16, 2026
Clēnera has secured US$304 million in finance to advance the development of the 120MW Crimson Orchard solar-plus-storage project in Idaho.
March 16, 2026
Flow Power has signed an offtake agreement with Octopus Australia for the 300MW Blind Creek solar farm and its 243MW/486MWh battery system.

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
March 24, 2026
Dallas, Texas
Solar Media Events
April 15, 2026
Milan, Italy
Solar Media Events
June 16, 2026
Napa, USA
Solar Media Events
October 13, 2026
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
November 3, 2026
Málaga, Spain