Africa’s largest hybrid renewable energy project has come online in the Northern Cape, with TotalEnergies and its partners inaugurating the Hydra Storage Project.
The project is in partnership with Hydra Storage Holding and Reatile Renewables, and is expected to supply enough electricity to power about 200 000 average-sized South African households.
The project is Africa’s largest hybrid renewable energy facility, combining a 216-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant with a 500-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.
Under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Eskom, the facility will supply 75 megawatts of dispatchable renewable electricity to the national grid between 5:00 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. each day. The project is expected to generate more than 400 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually.
TotalEnergies Southern Africa Managing Director Magali Pailhé says the project will provide reliable renewable electricity to the national grid.
Pailhé says, “The object of this project is to provide clean power to the grid, firm meaning constant between five am until half past nine it will supply 200 000 households in South Africa thats why it’s a major project for Total Energies and South Africa.”
In a statement, TotalEnergies says the project is a significant contribution to South Africa’s Just Energy Transition programme, which aims to reduce carbon emissions through renewable energy.
The Hydra project was developed by a consortium comprising TotalEnergies (35%), Hydra Storage Holding (35%) and Reatile Renewables (30%). It forms part of the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme launched by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.
TotalEnergies says the project strengthens South Africa’s energy security while expanding renewable electricity generation in the country’s largest power market.
The company says it currently holds nearly 36 gigawatts of gross renewable power generation capacity globally and aims to produce more than 100 terawatt-hours of net electricity annually by 2030.
Renewable Energy | Largest hybrid solar and battery storage project
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