Green revolution in Africa: massive hybrid energy storage facility and solar farm launched

TotalEnergies and its partners have officially commissioned the Hydra complex in South Africa. It is the largest hybrid renewable energy project developed on the African continent to date. Combining a 216 MW photovoltaic power plant with a 500 MWh battery energy storage system, the facility will provide a continuous and stable supply of electricity to the grid.

The newly opened facility is located in the Northern Cape province. The project was developed through cooperation between three entities: French company TotalEnergies, South African developer Hydra Storage Holding, and local investment company Reatile Renewables.

Clean energy on demand

One of the main challenges facing solar power has always been its dependence on the time of day. The large-scale energy storage system used in the Hydra project addresses this problem by enabling dispatchable generation.

Key terms of the operating agreement:

• Guaranteed supply – the complex delivers a constant 75 MW of power to the grid continuously from 5:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• Long-term contract – the electricity is sold under a 20-year power purchase agreement with the state-owned grid operator Eskom.
• Massive scale – the facility will generate more than 400 GWh of electricity annually, equivalent to the demand of approximately 200,000 households.

Thanks to this system design, South Africa gains a valuable source of electricity that supports the national grid precisely during periods of peak demand.

South Africa accelerates its energy transition

Magali Pailhé, managing director of TotalEnergies Southern Africa, emphasized that the continuous supply of green energy will not only strengthen the country’s energy security but also make a significant contribution to decarbonizing its energy mix.

South Africa’s renewable energy sector is expanding at a rapid pace:

• More than 10 GW installed – the country’s total installed solar photovoltaic capacity has already exceeded 10 GW.
• Rapid growth – in 2025 alone, 1.6 GW of new solar capacity was commissioned.
• More records ahead – in March this year, financing was secured for an even larger 620 MW photovoltaic project.

The launch of the Hydra project clearly demonstrates that combining large-scale energy storage systems with photovoltaic power generation is becoming increasingly important in the global energy transition.