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

April 15, 2026
European renewables developers need to embrace volatility and change in the face of ongoing global shifts, according to speakers at the SolarPLUS Europe conference in Milan, Italy this morning.
April 14, 2026
Fortescue has announced plans to build a 1.8GW renewable energy portfolio, with a 4-5GWh of batteries, in Western Australia.
April 14, 2026
GAIL will invest INR38 billion (US$408 million) to develop 700MW of solar projects across Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
April 14, 2026
Accelerating solar deployment and electrification offers Australia's most effective defence against volatile global energy markets, according to a new Climate Council report released.
April 9, 2026
French renewables company Voltalia has fully commissioned the 148MW Bolobedu solar farm in Limpopo province, South Africa.
April 7, 2026
The PPC Group has completed construction of a 2.13GW solar PV portfolio in Greece, which it described as the "largest" cluster in Europe.

Upcoming Events

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
Solar Media Events
November 24, 2026
Warsaw, Poland