Northern Cape Business 2024-25

The 2024/25 edition of Northern Cape Business is the 14th issue of this highly successful publication that has, since its launch in 2009, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Northern Cape Province. Officially supported and used by the Northern Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDaT), Northern Cape Business is unique as a business and investment guide that focuses exclusively on the province. Specific investment projects are outlined in detail by DEDaT in this journal, covering opportunities in energy and mining, together with reports on dedicated investment zones. One of these new zones is on the Atlantic Ocean, a short distance north of Port Nolloth. The Northern Cape is almost uniquely qualified to play a lead role in the development of the country’s green hydrogen economy, given its bountiful resources of land, wind and sun. The blending together of an earlier idea to develop a deepwater port at Boegoebaai with the creation of a Special Economic Zone devoted to green hydrogen production is particularly exciting. With the year 2024 signalling the end of an election cycle, two special features in this edition focus on important elements of the brief of the public sector, namely education and infrastructure.

OVERVIEW direct normal

OVERVIEW direct normal irradiance (DNI) at Upington is 2 816kWh/m2, according to a survey done for Stellenbosch University by Slovakian company GeoModal Solar. With 14 000km of new high-voltage powerlines needing to be installed in South Africa by 2032, the news that a new private company, the Green Transmission Company, is tackling a 1GW renewable energy connection project that stretches over more than 100km is good news indeed. The Northern Cape has superb conditions for renewable energy generation but grid capacity is close to fully used up after several years of signing off on solar and wind projects. The entry of a private company into the market will likely increase the prospects of further investments. Sol Plaatje Municipality is the site of a 120MW renewable energy project which Ekapa Mining is leading. The R2.4-billion project is expected to create about 400 work opportunities. Green hydrogen The province has a Green Hydrogen Strategy, which was launched at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 and a national programme, the Green Hydrogen National Programme (GHNP), has been gazetted. A series of projects located across the country are expected to attract investments of close to R600-billion. Of the nine projects identified by GHNP, four are located in the Northern Cape: • Prieska Power Reserve • Ubuntu Green Energy Hydrogen Project • Upilanga Solar and Green H2 Park • Boegoebaai Green Hydrogen Development Programme. All of these projects have been registered with Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), the body within the national presidency which is keeping track of and promoting infrastructure development in the country. Another project in the Northern Cape, the Enertrag Postmasburg Project (ammonia), is in the ISA pipeline, awaiting approval. National priorities Four of the 11 Renewable Energy Development Zones (REDZs) planned for South Africa are located in the Northern Cape. REDZs will encourage Trina Solar is investing in a huge solar PV power plant near Noupoort. localisation through the development of manufacturing hubs that can make components for the sector. REDZs are being developed in support of the implementation of the national Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2019). In a similar way in which each of the province’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrial parks is being aligned with renewable energy in some way (either generation or manufacturing), the Boegoebaai Port and Rail Development project has now been expanded to include the adjacent Hydrogen SEZ. The Boegoebaai Port and Green Hydrogen Cluster is regarded as a key priority programme, coordinated by the Northern Cape Economic Development Agency (NCEDA) and ISA. One of the Strategic Transmission Corridors identified at national level, the Northern Corridor, begins at Springbok in the west and runs through Upington and Vryburg on the way to Johannesburg in Gauteng. Each of those towns will be the focus of an REDZ, with the other REDZ in the province located in the provincial capital of Kimberley. ■ ONLINE RESOURCES IPP projects: www.ipp-projects.co.za South African Independent Power Producers (IPP) Association: www.saippa.org.za South African Photovoltaic Industry Association: www.sapvia.co.za South African Wind Energy Association: www.sawea.org.za NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2024/25 44 PHOTO: Trina Solar