The Hessequa Municipality is taking steps to reduce power cuts and ultimately become loadshedding-free.
Also read: The Western Cape Government has plans for a loadshedding-free province
This is according to the Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Hessequa Municipality Mayor Grant Riddles, who, during a media briefing on 30 November noted that Riversdale is seeing a rapid population growth which has increased the demand for electricity in the town.
In a bid to address this demand and ongoing rolling power cuts, the municipality will implement a R210 million renewable energy project over the next three years.
This project consists of the following:
- The goal to create 10MW hours or solar photovoltaic (PV) capable of generating 15 million kW hour per annum.
- A battery energy storage system (BESS) with a storage capacity of 10MW to enable efficient energy storage and discharge.
- To implement advanced monitoring and control systems of real-time performance tracking and optimisation.
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As per a governmental statement, the main goal is to ensure uninterrupted power supply to crucial infrastructure, to improve public safety and essential services, and to mitigate economic losses for businesses. The project is said to improve the quality of life for more than 22 000 residents.
‘Through the Western Cape Energy Resilience programme, we are offering assistance and are enabling municipalities to help end power cuts. Part of the plan is not only about helping big municipalities but smaller ones too,’ says Winde.
‘Our journey to end load shedding in the Western Cape is well on its way. We have been working for several months already to get to this point with Mayor Riddles and his team. We will learn as we go. But we must be courageous and show commitment.
‘We have to do everything we can to tackle this crisis. This issue requires us all to become innovative. We cannot sit back and expect [the] national government to end load shedding.
‘It has had more than 15 years to come up with solutions yet here we are back in higher stages of power cuts. We will work closely with Hessequa Municipality and all municipalities to make the Western Cape the first province to end load shedding.’
Watch the full briefing here:
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Also read:
Cape Town might just become the first loadshedding-free municipality in SA
Picture: Pok Rie / Pexels