The City of Cape Town’s Spatial Planning, Environment and Land Use Management (SPELUM) Committee has approved an application for a solar power farm in Durbanville in line with the city’s commitment to developing the Green Economy. The new solar power plant aims to assist in reducing Cape Town’s carbon footprint.

The power plant, to be constructed on the Blaauw Blommen Kloof farm, will cover approximately 17.5 ha of the 999 ha farm on land that is currently not cultivated. It will generate 7.5 megawatts of electricity.

The Crystalline panels will be erected on support structures up to 3 m high. The electrical current generated will be converted to 11 kV for transmission to a substation, located approximately 800 m from the site.

“We foresee that this solar power plant will assist in reducing our carbon footprint and will aid in job creation,” said the SPELUM Chairperson, Councillor Christo Kannenberg. “Furthermore, mitigatory measures include prescribed dark colours for the panels and all other structures, as directed by the visual impact assessment.”

South Africa currently generates 90% of its electricity from coal-fired power stations and is responsible for one of the highest levels of carbon dioxide emissions per capita in the world. The Western Cape Spatial Development Framework states that renewable energy sources should comprise 25% of the province’s energy generation capacity by 2020.

Thus solar power farms are in line with the city’s policy on developing the Green Economy and are much-needed assets, which will contribute greatly to the long-term sustainability of our environment, economy and job creation, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic, Environmental and Spatial Planning, Cllr Johan van der Merwe points out.

“This is a great example of the city’s aim of creating an enabling environment for investment in the Green Economy and the partnerships with the private sector which are necessary for us to achieve our goals. The city encourages such initiatives and the development of this solar power farm is one step closer towards developing the Green Economy and obtaining the renewable energy goals set for the Western Cape,” says Van der Merwe.