TotalEnergies, in partnership with Hydra Storage Holding and Reatile Renewables, has inaugurated the Hydra Project, a 216 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant paired with a 500 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.
Described as the largest hybrid renewable energy project in Africa, the facility combines utility-scale solar generation with battery storage to deliver dispatchable renewable electricity, supporting South Africa’s Just Energy Transition and efforts to decarbonize its power sector.
Under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with state-owned utility Eskom, the project will supply 75 MW of dispatchable renewable electricity to the national grid between 5:00 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. daily. The facility is expected to generate more than 400 GWh of electricity annually, enough to meet the power needs of approximately 200,000 South African households.
“The Hydra project enables us to supply dispatchable renewable power to the South African grid, strengthening the country’s energy security while decarbonising its electricity generation,” said Magali Pailhé, Managing Director of TotalEnergies Southern Africa. She added that the project further expands the company’s renewable energy portfolio in South Africa, the continent’s largest electricity market by power consumption.
The Hydra Project has been developed by a consortium comprising TotalEnergies (35%), Hydra Storage Holding (35%), and Reatile Renewables (30%). The project was awarded under South Africa’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) launched by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to enhance grid reliability through private sector renewable energy investments.
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