The continent’s largest hybrid solar and battery plant – also one of the largest in the world – has started producing power.

The 540 MW solar energy and 225 MW /1 140 MWh battery storage plant at Kenhardt in the Northern Cape, South Africa – developed by Norwegian solar company Scatec – will feed energy to the national power grid from 5 am to 9.30 am daily, under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement.

African Business Communities reports that development finance institutions Norfund, of Norway, and the UK’s British International Investment invested in the project through black-owned South African company H1 Capital, which owns 49% of the project. Scatec owns the balance.

The project, producing 900GWh of clean energy a year, will avoid 870 000 tons of CO₂ annually.

6 February 2024
Image: Scatec