Ekurhuleni Solar-Powered Mini Grid — Community Energy

Feasibility study in progress for a 2MW solar mini-grid serving 3,000 households. Municipal engagement underway. EIA application being prepared.

This project aims to establish a 2MW solar photovoltaic mini-grid with battery energy storage (BESS) to serve approximately 3,000 households in the Ekurhuleni metropolitan area. The project addresses the critical energy access challenges faced by informal settlement communities while contributing to South Africa's renewable energy targets. The mini-grid will operate as an independent power producer (IPP) under the municipality's embedded generation framework. Households will pay a prepaid tariff approximately 30% below Eskom's current rates, while the project achieves a target IRR of 18% over a 20-year period. The feasibility study is 60% complete with promising solar irradiance data (average 5.8 kWh/m²/day) and strong community support.

South Africa faces an ongoing energy crisis with load shedding costing the economy an estimated R500 billion annually. The Ekurhuleni metro has over 200 informal settlements with limited or no grid connection. The municipality has publicly committed to exploring alternative energy solutions and has designated 5 pilot areas for mini-grid development. The project aligns with the national Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2019) which targets 14.4GW of distributed generation by 2030. Carbon credits under the South African Carbon Tax Act provide an additional revenue stream.

Structured as Ekurhuleni Community Energy (Pty) Ltd. Proposed ownership: Nomsa Dlamini (40%), Community Cooperative (20%), Investor (30%), Municipal Entity (10% — non-voting). The cooperative structure ensures community buy-in and satisfies developmental funding criteria.

Solar irradiance data collected over 6 months shows an average of 5.8 kWh/m²/day at the proposed site — well above the South African average of 5.5 kWh/m²/day. The proposed system comprises approximately 4,800 x 420W monocrystalline panels, 4 x 500kW central inverters, and a 4MWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery system. Distribution will be via a dedicated low-voltage network with smart meters at each connection point. A community payment and management platform will be developed to handle prepaid sales, fault reporting, and usage monitoring. The project aims to create 15 permanent jobs and 45 construction-phase jobs.