The Western Cape Government and the Hessequa Municipality are working together to eliminate loadshedding in Riversdale.
Premier Alan Winde, speaking at the Western Cape State of the Province Address, stated that loadshedding has severely hampered economic growth in the province, with losses ranging from R49 billion to R61 billion in real GDP since it began.
Also read: Watch: CT mom gets her kids involved in loadshedding laundry hack
In 2022 the Western Cape’s real GDP loss is expected to be R8.2 billion, with stage 4 loadshedding costing R43 million per day.
However, Winde stated that the province is on its way to becoming the first loadshedding-free province in the country, with just under R7 billion being spent over the next three years to improve the province’s energy resilience.
This includes over R1 billion from the province, R3.9 billion from the City of Cape Town, and R1.9 billion spent by other municipalities to assist the private sector and households with their energy needs.
Furthermore, Hessequa Municipality and the Western Cape Government are working together to complete an R210 million solar PV project in Riversdale over the next three years, eliminating the need for loadshedding.
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The Democratic Alliance, which currently governs the province, previously stated that the project would be capable of producing 15 million kilowatt hours annually.
Winde stated that Riversdale will then become the province’s first loadshedding-free town, thereby improving the lives of its 22 000 residents.
He went on to say that embedded generation installations in the other twenty-five municipalities had increased dramatically.
Other wind and solar projects by private households and businesses that Winde alluded to in his address included:
- Three 75MW solar farms will be built in the Touws River area, and Atlantis Foundries and Energy Partners are collaborating on a large embedded solar project that includes 20 000 ground-mounted solar panels.
- Atlantis Foundries and Energy Partners are collaborating on a large embedded solar project that includes 20 000 ground-mounted solar panels.
- Prescient Investment Management and H1 Holdings are investing in a solar project that will begin operations next year and could power up to 100 000 homes.
As Eskom grapples with loadshedding and underperforming generating units at its power stations, more towns, municipalities, and cities are taking control of their power needs.
In addition to the billions of rands invested in own-generation and alternative energy sources in cities such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Tshwane, smaller towns are doing their part to meet their own energy needs.
Clarens, a small Free State town, recently became the country’s first ‘smart town’ by using an app to manage its load and implement load curtailment on a group level.
Other towns, such as Frankfort, had previously attempted to eliminate loadshedding entirely through solar but ran into regulatory issues.
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Also read:
Loadshedding blamed for fire that wiped out family in Fisantekraal
Picture:Andresdewet/Wikipedia
