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

By Cameron Murray
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

June 18, 2026
Aiko has signed a 1.2GW module supply deal with Infinity Power to supply modules for the latter’s Nefer Menya solar-plus-storage project.
June 17, 2026
Foresight Group-backed developer NZ Clean Energy (NZCE) and Fonterra have signed a long-term virtual power purchase agreement (PPA) under which the dairy cooperative will purchase electricity generated by NZCE's Darfield solar-plus-storage project in Canterbury.
June 16, 2026
Brisbane-based developer Renewable Energy Partners (REP) has expanded the Bogunda Energy Hub to include solar PV and battery energy storage, with the project now formally in early-stage development south of Hughenden in Queensland, Australia.
June 12, 2026
Lu Chuan, chairman of CHINT and its subsidiary Astronergy, outlines his prudent approach to navigating the difficulties facing China's PV manufacturers.
June 12, 2026
US independent power producer (IPP) Cypress Creek Energy has secured US$3.5 billion in financing to support the development of a 1.63GW/1.9GWh solar-plus-storage project in Arkansas.
Premium
June 11, 2026
T1 Energy's CEO Dan Barcelo explains his optimism about US solar manufacturing and how it can deliver on the power demand growth.

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
June 30, 2026
Sacramento, California
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
August 25, 2026
São Paulo, Brazil
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 1, 2026
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 9, 2026
Schaumburg, Illinois
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 9, 2026