The recent launch of the Helderhoop Solar and Storage Power Plant in Atlantis marks a significant milestone in Cape Town’s renewable energy journey. For Lesedi, the occasion also represents the culmination of a major engineering and construction undertaking, demonstrating its capability to deliver integrated solar and battery storage infrastructure at utility scale.
Appointed by the City of Cape Town, the Lesedi–Technoserve Consortium delivered the plant end-to-end as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, covering design, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning, and integrating solar generation and battery storage into a single hybrid plant. As South Africa’s first metro-owned solar PV and battery storage plant, it is a landmark development supporting the City’s ambition to diversify its energy supply and reduce reliance on Eskom.
Turning Ambition into Infrastructure
Located in Atlantis, about 40 kilometres north of Cape Town, the solar facility comprises 12,850 solar panels across about 15 hectares, with a generation capacity of around 7 MW and room for future expansion. Together with a battery energy storage system provided by SEM Solutions, the PV plant forms a complete hybrid power plant.
Delivering infrastructure of this scale requires more than installing solar panels. It demands multidisciplinary engineering expertise, careful project planning, and coordination of civil, mechanical, electrical, and control works to deliver a reliable, grid-connected power generation facility.
The project involved transforming the site into a functional hybrid generation plant, complete with the supporting infrastructure required to feed electricity into the City’s distribution network.
For Lesedi, the development provided an opportunity to apply its established engineering and project execution capabilities to a pioneering municipal renewable energy project.
Commenting on the project, Jaston Sikaundi, Managing Executive: Grid & Renewables at Lesedi, said: “Helderhoop is more than a solar farm. It is a complete hybrid power station, where solar generation and battery storage work together as one plant. Integrating the two to meet both City and national grid requirements meant solving problems no South African municipality had faced before, and that is exactly what an EPC contractor is for. We are proud to have delivered it with our consortium partner, Technoserve, and with SEM Solutions, who provided the battery storage system.”
He added: “This project is proof that Lesedi has the engineering capability to deliver integrated solar and storage at utility scale. We have built the first plant of its kind for a South African metro, and we are ready to build the next.”
Strengthening Lesedi’s Renewable Energy Portfolio
For Lesedi, the delivery of the Helderhoop hybrid plant adds another significant project to its growing renewable energy portfolio and reinforces its position as a trusted EPC partner in South Africa’s evolving energy landscape.
As municipalities, independent power producers and industries increasingly invest in alternative energy solutions, the need for experienced EPC partners capable of translating ambitious energy plans into operational infrastructure continues to grow.
The Helderhoop project demonstrates the engineering expertise, multidisciplinary capabilities, and project delivery experience that Lesedi brings to the renewable energy and storage sector.