- The City of Cape Town has awarded the Atlantis solar photovoltaic (PV) plant tender.
- It is the first utility-scale renewable energy project in Cape Town, and the city will own and operate it.
The City of Cape Town has awarded the tender for the Atlantis solar photovoltaic (PV) plant. Construction will start in August this year and be completed within 12 months.
The City’s first grid-connected 7 MW solar plant is one of its interventions to end load-shedding over time. Additionally, Cape Town awarded the tender for the plant’s engineering, procurement and construction to the Lesedi Technoserve Consortium.
The project is currently in the detailed design phase, and the first power will be transmitted into the grid towards the end of 2025. The plant connection will be to the city’s electrical network at a nearby main substation, feeding the 7MW of generated electricity directly into the grid.
Also, it is the first utility-scale renewable energy project in Cape Town, and the city will own and operate it. Thus, the Atlantis project will significantly benefit the economy and job creation, increasing green jobs across various skill levels.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen, said a complete stakeholder engagement process will get underway. The Atlantis PV Project is one of the initiatives the City is undertaking to achieve its Energy Strategy 2050 vision of ‘Energy security for a prosperous Cape Town’. It supports the strategy’s commitments to harness new energy supply, operate a future-fit utility, and optimise energy use.
Furthermore, the city currently purchases most of its electricity from Eskom, which may not be financially sustainable, given the expected high price escalations. The City’s Atlantis Solar PV plant will be one of many interventions to help generate affordable, reliable electricity by ensuring that the cost of generation is lower than Eskom’s.
Moreover, this project will also contribute to achieving the City’s goal of net-zero carbon municipal buildings by 2030. The renewable energy generated from the Atlantis Solar PV project will offset electricity consumption in municipal buildings, thereby reducing the carbon emissions associated with the City’s operations.