APA-Johannesburg (South Africa) The municipal council of Johannesburg is rolling out a project that will see 15 informal settlements in Gauteng province being powered with solar micro-grid plants.
City Power, a subsidiary of the City of Johannesburg, said in a statement on Sunday that it was piloting the “first of its kind” solar micro-grid project in the amaRasta informal settlement in Alexandra township before rolling it out to 14 other areas in the region.
“Once the pilot project in Alexandra proves effective, it will be rolled out in 14 other informal settlements in the province as part of the energy crisis response plan,” City Power said.
The 1MVA (mega volt-amperes) amaRasta project solar grid is expected to power 500 households, according to City Power. One MVA is equivalent to 1,000 kilo volt-amperes (kVA).
“The purpose of this innovative and clean energy project is to provide reliable electricity supply to informal dwellers by harnessing the power of the sun.”
The intervention comes as South Africa is battling daily power cuts blamed on dilapidated equipment at power stations owned by state-run utility Eskom.
The power cuts have seen South Africans countrywide enduring long period of darkness every day.
JN/APA