The Oya Energy Hybrid Project, a 128 MW solar-wind-battery scheme, has successfully reached financial closure.
This innovative project aims combine renewable energy and batteries to deliver dispatchable electricity daily from 5 am to 9:30 pm to South Africa’s grid, which is prone to load shedding. The project is jointly owned by French multinational utility company ENGIE (35 per cent), South African project developer G7 Renewable Energies (20 per cent), Meadows Energy (22.5 per cent), and Perpetua Investment Holdings (22.5 per cent). The project, located on a single site that spans across the Western and Northern Cape provinces between the towns of Ceres and Sutherland, combines 155 MW of solar photovoltaic, 86 MW of wind, and a 92 MW/242 MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system. The project secured a 20-year power purchase agreement under South Africa’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, which was launched as an emergency procurement round in 2020 for 2 GW. The project is expected to be completed by 2025.