A large-scale hybrid renewable energy project able to supply 75 MW of dispatchable renewable electricity to South Africa’s national grid between 5:00am and 9:30pm daily has been officially inaugurated.
Known as the Hydra project, the facility was procured under the so-called Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), which was launched by the then Department of Mineral Resources and Energy during the peak of the country’s loadshedding crisis in August 2020.
The initial list of preferred bidders was dominated by three Karpowership projects that collectively secured 1 220 MW of the 2 000 MW allocation.
These gas-to-power projects met strong resistance, and were eventually abandoned. In addition, the inflexible design of the RMIPPPP was also criticised for failing to address the scale of the crisis under way and for resulting in expensive power purchase agreements that would be embedded for 20 years.
The Hydra project, which has been developed by a consortium composed of TotalEnergies (35%), Hydra Storage Holding (35%) and Reatile Renewables (30%), managed to advance to financial close.
Located near De Aar in the Northern Cape, the facility combines a 216 MW solar PV plant with a 500 MWh battery energy storage system, able to produce more than 400 GWh of electricity yearly.
In a statement, TotalEnergies Southern Africa Magali Pailhé expressed delight at the Hydra project having entered into operation.
“It enables us to supply dispatchable renewable power to the South African grid, thereby strengthening the country’s energy security while decarbonising its electricity generation,” Pailhé said, adding that it also reinforced the group’s renewables production capacity in South Africa.
Terence Creamer
www.engineeringnews.co.za
