INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY І Renewable energyVast resources of solar and wind power give the Northern Cape the edge in therace to generate renewable energy.For anyone who visits this windswept andsun-drenched region, it will come as no surprisethat the Northern Cape is already home tomore than 60% of South Africa’s renewableenergy production. Now the region wants totransform its natural resources of wind, sun andmineral deposits into new possibilities for economicgrowth and shared prosperity.“With our vast solar potential, consistent windcorridors and rich mineral deposits, we have whatit takes to diversify and future-proof our economy,”says Lorato Venus Blennies-Magage, Memberof the Executive Council for Finance, EconomicDevelopment and Tourism. “Our strategic objectiveis to position the Northern Cape as a regional andglobal hub.”Together with world-class solar and wind resources,the province’s low population density makes it easyfor developers to acquire land. With a supportiveprovincial government, permitting procedures arestraightforward and returns on investment can behigh. Global renewables leaders such as Scatec,Mainstream Renewable Power and EDF Renewableshave all made major investments here, decarbonisingthe province’s electricity production and revitalisingits inland economy with new sources of clean energy.Some of South Africa’s largest battery storageprojects are also underway in the province. Thesestate-of-the-art systems allow developers to continueinjecting electricity from solar plants into the networkeven after the sun has set.Scatec’s 540MW facility in Kenhardt is one ofthe world’s largest hybrid solar and battery storagefacilities. The R18-billion plant includes 225MWof battery storage and forms the largest singleinvestment in the company’s history.In 2024, Scatec began construction of another103MW battery storage project for an investmentof R3.1-billion. Located near Kathu, the site will beone of Africa’s first and largest standalone batteryenergy storage systems.For its part, EDF Renewables is developing an
| +27 53 833 1503.za | info@investsanc.co.zatsanc.co.zaand green hydrogenorthern Cape: A Modern, Growing and Successful Province”2022/232022/06/01 13:03innovative hybrid project partly inthe Northern Cape that will operateas an innovative virtual power plant.Combining solar, wind and batterycapabilities spread across two sites900km apart, including a 115MW solarpower plant and 30MW of batteriesat Avondale, the project will be ableto deliver energy to the South Africanpower grid at all times. Commissioningis planned for mid-2025.The province has long been a hotbedof renewable energy innovation. A100MW concentrated solar thermalpower (CSP) plant in Redstone is thefirst CSP project in Sub-Saharan Africa.The pioneering project, developedby ACWA Power of Saudi Arabia,concentrates sunlight onto receivers,which heat molten salt to produce steam, driveturbines and generate electricity. As with batterystorage, the technology allows CSP plants to provideconsistent energy even when the sun is not shining.Saudi Arabia is not the only country to seize theopportunities of renewable energy in the province.UAE-based Masdar, one of the leading forces in theglobal industry, operates wind farms across theNorthern Cape, with three projects of 140MW each.Meanwhile, at the end of 2024, Chineseengineering firm PowerChina signed an engineering,procurement and construction contract with SouthAfrica’s SolarAfrica Energy to build a 342MW solarpower plant in the province. The project will be thelargest single-unit solar power plant in South Africaand will supply clean energy to large data centres andcommercial and industrial users across the country.“The Northern Cape is blessed with some ofthe most favourable conditions for renewableenergy projects in the country, if not the world,”Blennies-Magage says. “These are not just theoreticalPHOTO: SR EnergyThe Redstone Solar ThermalPower Plant located nearPostmasburg is a 100MWconcentrated solar power (CSP)facility with 12 hours of moltensalt energy storage, capableof supplying electricity toapproximately 200 000 homes.advantages, they are catalytic assets that have alreadybegun attracting global attention and investment.”Green hydrogen strategyMoreover, the Northern Cape’s ambitions forharnessing its renewable energy resources extend wellbeyond clean power generation and storage. Theyare central to a broader economic transformation.Renewable energy initiatives in the Northern Capehave the capacity to transform even the most aridareas into major energy sources.In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, PresidentCyril Ramaphosa emphasised the province’sstrategic role in South Africa’s green economy: “Weare going to set up a Special Economic Zone in theBoegoebaai port to drive investment in green energy.”Under the government’s Green Hydrogen Strategyand Master Plan, the province plans to use its windand solar resources to power electrolysers andproduce hydrogen for export to industrial users. Thehydrogen strategy aims to turn the Northern Cape’sabundant renewables into the driver of its globalexport ambitions.At the Boegoebaai Green Hydrogen Project, energycompany Sasol is talking to international partnersabout building one of the world’s largest greenhydrogen plants. Including a Special Economic Zoneand a deepwater port, the venture could create morethan 13 000 jobs in the 5GW first phase alone.With the right partners on board, the projecthas the potential to be scaled up to 40GW andship hydrogen, ammonia and fertiliser to end-usersaround the world, especially in Asia and Europe.Supported by this infrastructure, Boegoebaai will alsobecome one of South Africa’s leading hubs for lowcarbonmanufacturing. ■A total of 61 Siemens wind turbines were installedat the large wind power facility at Loeriesfontein.PHOTO: FairWind
