Building an Energy-Resilient Province

Regional Focus

By Jessie Taylor

Several projects have been rolled out to support the Western Cape Government's efforts to become the first province without load shedding. In support of that goal, the provincial government has implemented numerous initiatives to increase the energy resilience of government facilities and small businesses.

Hundreds of healthcare facilities, schools, and businesses have been supported by interventions such as solar power, with around a third of the country's Small-Scale Embedded Generation projects based in the Western Cape.

Prioritising Government Facilities

Last year, the Western Cape Government also initiated a project to distribute load-shedding relief packs to indigent households, schools, and government-funded facilities. Premier Alan Winde explained that the government has been handing out load-shedding relief kits (emergency lighting and solar charging systems) to Western Cape Department of Social Development funded facilities, like gender-based violence shelters and school learners. More than 4 000 packs have been distributed to social development facilities, and more than 16 000 packs have been distributed to quintile 1 to 3 schools.

R89-million was spent in the province 2023 to ensure that essential services operate during load shedding. Schools, clinics, and water treatment plants are among the public facilities that benefit from the drive to incorporate solar energy into the power grid. Across the province, 195 health facilities boast generator capacity to sustain operations during power cuts, inverters were installed in 47 clinics, and 10 hospitals were granted exemptions from stage 6 load shedding.

In addition, energy-saving interventions were undertaken at 52 schools to ensure they are fitted with energy-efficient lighting. A total of 418kWp solar photovoltaics and 653kWp of battery storage have been installed at 18 schools, meaning that up to 17 000 learners can continue their studies during load shedding. A further 56 schools are in line to receive the same interventions. Twenty-four municipalities are supported with Small-Scale Embedded Generation interventions, of which 21 feed electricity back into the grid.

Between October 2023 and January 2024, close to 4 500 MW of SmallScale Embedded Generation came into the system. Roughly 35% of that is in the Western Cape, and Western Cape municipalities have registered 220MW of Small-Scale Embedded Generation, including an estimated 835MW of solar photovoltaics.

In addition, the 2024/25 fiscal year will see the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure’s contribute R116-million to the Provincial Energy Resilience Programme, which is intended to make significant advances in helping the Western Cape become less reliant on the national grid for its energy needs.

Supporting Small Businesses

As part of the provincial government's plans to increase energy resilience, it has also introduced initiatives to bolster Small, Medium, and MicroEnterprises (SMMEs) as crucial drivers of employment in the province through its Alternative Energy Support Programme (AESP).

Mireille Wenger, Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, explained: "SMMEs often grapple with the challenge of unreliable electricity supply, particularly during power outages by Eskom."

To address this, the AESP has initiated the installation of solar photovoltaics systems at twelve township and trading hubs across seven municipalities in the Western Cape, including Mossel Bay, Oudtshoorn, Laingsburg, Cape Agulhas, Theewaterskloof, Drakenstein, and Stellenbosch.

Minister Wenger said: "In the 2023/24 financial year, we have allocated a total of R12-million to install solar photovoltaics backup systems at township and trading hubs, assisting at least 50 businesses to remain operational during Eskom power cuts, thereby sustaining more than 100 jobs.”

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde estimated that load shedding has cost the province between R48.6-billion and R61.2-billion in real GDP since it started in 2007. He said that small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) have borne the brunt of the energy crisis, resulting in up to R61.2-billion losses in real gross domestic product (GDP).

He said that the provincial government also provides mobile power solutions to support another 135 businesses. The provincial government's Municipal Energy Resilience (MER) Initiative, which develops and mobilises municipalities to implement renewable energy solutions, has seen a successful request for information from 1 000 potential energy generation projects. Around 2 000MW worth of projects are currently in the market.

Premier Winde added: "Our aim is that by 2035 we will generate 5 700 MW of our own energy through enabling the private sector and other role players to step-in. Recent data estimates that 835MW of solar photovoltaics has already been installed in the Western Cape through Solar photovoltaics – this means that we are well on our way to achieving our goal!"

Sources: Solar Quarter / Western Cape Gov / Solar Quarter 2 / Cape Town ETC / Politics Web