128 MW Karoo hybrid project to blend wind, sun and batteries to provide dispatchable power

The lead sponsor of a 128 MW hybrid facility named as a preferred bidder under South Africa’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) reports that the project is pioneering globally in the way it will use co-located wind turbines, solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays, lithium-ion batteries and a hybrid controller that orchestrates all three technologies to provide dispatchable renewable energy to the grid as and when needed. The Oya Energy Hybrid Facility was named by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe this week as one of eight preferred bidders selected under the RMIPPPP, through which government sought to procure 2 000 MW of ‘emergency power’ to be connected to the grid from August 2022.