CHAMWE KAIRA
TotalEnergies, together with its partners Hydra Storage Holding and Reatile Renewables, inaugurated the Hydra project, the largest hybrid renewable energy project in Africa, located in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.
The project combines a 216 MW solar photovoltaic plant with a 500-MWh battery energy storage system, marking a significant contribution to the country’s Just Energy Transition program that aims to decarbonise the economy thanks to renewable energy sources.
The facility will supply 75 MW of dispatchable renewable electricity to the national grid continuously under a 20-year power purchase agreement signed with Eskom.
This represents more than 400 GWh of electricity per year, equivalent to the consumption of approximately 200,000 South African households.
“We are delighted, together with our partners ReatileRenewables and Hydra Storage Holding, to bring the Hydra project into operation. It enables us to supply dispatchable renewable power to the South African grid, thereby strengthening the country’s energy security while decarbonising its electricity generation. This project reinforces our renewable production capacity in South Africa, the continent’s largest power market in terms of electricity consumption”, said Magali Pailhé, managing director of TotalEnergies Southern Africa.
The project has been developed by a consortium composed of TotalEnergies (35%), Hydra Storage Holding (35%) and Reatile Renewables (30%).
It is part of the South Africa’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme launched by the department of mineral resources and energy.
Hydra Storage Holding is a South African renewable energy developer and independent power producer. Its shareholders bring over 15 years of experience and have delivered more than 1 GW of large- and medium-scale renewable energy projects across South Africa.
Reatile Group is a South African diversified investment holding company focused on addressing the energy challenges of the African continent.
Over the last 23 years, it has built a considerable portfolio of investments in the energy sector including natural gas, liquified petroleum gas, liquid natural gas, strategic fuel storage and renewable energy.
Reatile Renewables holds the growing renewable energy portfolio consisting of wind, solar and battery assets.
TotalEnergies is building a competitive portfolio that combines renewables (solar, onshore wind, offshore wind) and flexible assets (CCGT, storage) to deliver clean firm power to its customers.
By the end of April 2026, TotalEnergies holds nearly 36 GW of gross renewable power generation capacity and aims to achieve over 100 TWh of net electricity production by 2030.
