REGULATORY approvals to develop a 2GW hybrid renewable energy project in the Eastern Cape have been secured, paving the way for one of South Africa’s largest fully permitted clean energy developments.
The multi-billion-rand EnergyFields project by Dimsum Energy, which combines wind, solar and large-scale battery storage, is expected to begin construction in early 2028 and is designed to strengthen the national electricity grid while unlocking new transmission capacity for future renewable energy projects.
The development will also underpin the planned 400/132kV Poseidon South substation near Cookhouse, a key piece of infrastructure expected to improve electricity transmission into KwaZulu-Natal through the Southern Transmission Corridor.
Dimsum Energy CEO Demetri Pappadopoulos said the project represents a shift towards utility-scale renewable energy that serves both industrial and future retail electricity markets.
“The vision has been that we can sell and make electricity available to people through an app, just like we do data,” he said.
The project has reached the cost estimate letter stage, while Dimsum has also secured a partnership with global wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind Africa.
“EnergyFields, as it sits today, is what we believe to be the largest hybrid electricity project in South Africa. It is fully permitted and has obtained all of its essential approvals,” said Pappadopoulos.
“We currently have approximately 1GW of permitted wind and 800MW of permitted solar. Following optimisation, the final installed capacity will be approximately 2GW. The project includes 500MW / 2,000MWh of battery energy storage – four-hour duration.”
For Pappadopoulos, the project’s scale is necessary.
“We’re not making electricity available only to elite customers. Our vision is to build utility-scale electricity generation that reflects where the South African electricity market is and what the grid actually needs. And… we cannot build this without Eskom and without the Eskom grid.”
He says the decision to combine wind, solar and battery storage was driven by the country’s changing electricity landscape.
“The reason we’ve done it as a hybrid project is that this is what the South African electricity market requires. Recent reports have highlighted increasing curtailment and the pressure the grid will continue to face.”
At the heart of the development will be the planned 400/132kV Poseidon South substation near Cookhouse, infrastructure that Pappadopoulos believes could unlock an entirely new wave of renewable energy investment.
“The project supports and underpins the development of the Poseidon South substation, which in turn contributes to unlocking the Southern Transmission Corridor. This will strengthen the grid and enable significant additional renewable energy development across the Eastern Cape and beyond.
“We have another three or four very large sites in the area that we can develop once that infrastructure is in place. We can bring several thousand megawatts of additional wind, battery storage and other technologies there, as well as in the Free State. But the Southern Corridor is unlocked by creating a project large enough to justify the Poseidon South substation.”
With the approvals secured, the company’s immediate focus is on financing and construction.
“We are now on a very clear mission to accept our cost estimate letters, achieve financial close and build these projects over the next five years so that they become fully operational.”
Cape Times
Ntsikelelo Qoyo
iol.co.za