The City of Cape Town's Energy and Water and Sanitation directorates recently completed a 990kWp renewable energy project at the Kraaifontein Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The project was undertaken in support of the city’s commitment to use sustainable energy sources to drive energy efficiency in internal operations and mitigate the effects of climate change.
This is also part of the city's solar PV drive, both in residential and commercial sectors, and own operations, for increased energy security.
The city launched its ground-breaking small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) programme, installing solar PV systems at various municipal facilities to offset dependence on traditional Eskom- and City-power supply.
At the same time as the Kraaifontein project was rolled out, the city also completed similar SSEG projects at the Goodwood Transport Management Centre (330kWp) and the Gugulethu Electricity Depot (125kWp) at a total cost of R20.6 million for the three projects.
"This programme contributes toward the reduction of greenhouse gases by providing an alternative to electricity generated from fossil fuels and will assist South Africa to begin demonstrating its commitment to meeting international obligations by reducing its emissions. In addition, the project contributes towards diversifying the energy mix to secure additional energy capacity in South Africa and importantly within the city.
"Construction on site started in November 2023 and was completed in May 2024 with an annual yield of 1,5 GWh expected. It is estimated that the annual savings on electricity purchases in year one will be a massive R2.4 million.
"I thank the project teams for their ongoing hard work and dedication toward building a more sustainable, future-fit Cape Town," said the city’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Xanthea Limberg.
The city plans to invest more than R4 billion in electricity grid upgrades and maintenance over the next three years as part of its new budget for 2024/25.
This is to ensure the grid can cope with a dynamic, decentralised energy future.
Overall, Cape Town is planning to add up to one gigawatt of independent power supply to end load-shedding in Cape Town over time, including enough energy to protect against four Eskom load-shedding stages by 2026.
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