World's largest solar + battery project comes online in South Africa

Norwegian company Scatec ASA announced it has started producing and supplying electricity from the Kenhardt project in South Africa, the world's largest solar and battery project.

Located in the Northern Cape Province, the ~$1 billion project has installed solar capacity of 540 MW and a battery storage capacity of 225 MW/ 1,140 MWh. It delivers 150 MW of dispatchable power from 5 am to 9.30 pm round the year under a 20-year power purchase agreement with South Africa's national power and grid company Eskom.

Notably, the project outperformed fossil fuels in a competitive bid, with Scatec pointing out that this cemented renewable sources as the most cost-effective electricity source.

Terje Pilskog, CEO of Scatec, called the project "more than just a power plant" and said it was "a testament to the limitless potential of integrating solar and battery storage to meet the evolving energy needs of today and tomorrow."

Integrating battery energy storage system (BESS) technologies with solar and wind plants helps to overcome the intermittency challenges associated with renewable energy sources.

Jan Fourie, EVP of Sub-Saharan Africa for Scatec, said, "The Kenhardt project showcases the resilience and reliability of renewable energy, proving it to be a steadfast source of electricity capacity for the grid. Dispatchable renewables are the future."

Scatec holds 51 percent of the equity in Kenhardt, while H1 Holdings, the company's local Black Economic Empowerment partner, owns the balance 49 percent.