The mayor was joined by Alderman Xanthea Limberg, Mayoral Committee Member for Energy. 

‘The key benefit of this new power plant is that the power it generates is much cheaper than Eskom -saving Cape Town residents at least R400m over the coming 20 years. Our firm intention is to reduce our reliance on Eskom’s expensive power and big annual increases, so that we can pass on thesesavings to Capetonians over time,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

This R220m hybrid power facility has 12 850 solar panels and two utility-scale batteries, covering 15 hectares or roughly the area of 21 rugby fields. 

‘With this new power plant right here in Atlantis, we are demonstrating that municipalities can play a leading role in building their own energy future and reducing dependence on Eskom’s expensive and unreliable electricity. This follows our City recently also becoming the first to buy power on the open market at rates 20% cheaper than Eskom as part of an initial 200MW Independent Power Procurement Programme.

‘The ‘Helderhoop’ or ‘Bright Hope’ plant is named by Vinolio Cloete, an Atlantis matriculant who we are proud to have with us today. This facility is indeed yet another reason to be hopeful as Atlantis residents mark their community’s 50th anniversary. 

‘Other major developments include the City’s completed R31 million upgrade to Wesfleur Stadium, ongoing upgrades to local MyCiTi bus stops, and the continued flow of commercial investment into the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (SEZ), to which the City proudly contributed 96 hectares of municipal land,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

Alderman Limberg said construction is now complete, with the plant now operating under controlled test conditions as part of the commissioning process.

‘We thank our City officials, project teams, contractors, local businesses, and most of all the community of Atlantis who have helped bring Helderhoop to this point.

‘Around 305 jobs were created during the construction phase, alongside the skills, training and experience gained through working on renewable energy infrastructure,’ said Alderman Limberg.

A public competition was held which resulted in the name Helderhoop Solar and Storage Power Plant, as submitted by Vinolio Cloete, who at the time was in Matric at Saxonsea High School.

Her motivation for the name was as follows:

‘This name combines the idea of light and energy with hope for a better future for Atlantis. Solar power brings clean energy, jobs, opportunities, and progress for Atlantis.’

Cape Town leading on energy security

Besides the new Atlantis hybrid plant, Cape Town is also South Africa’s first city to achieve various other pioneering energy security milestones over the current municipal term, including:

• Signing of two IPP Power Purchase Agreements – saving up to 21% below-Eskom rates - as part of an initial power procurement of up to 200MW to be bought on the open market. The City further plans to procure up to 500MW from energy traders and aggregators, as well as further power generation from waste-to-energy producers.
• The Municipal Energy Efficiency Programme across City operations - including streetlight and building retrofits, rooftop solar PV - has to date saved more than 427 GWh of electricity and generated savings of approximately R625 million.
• The municipal SSEG programme has seen 2.2 MW in solar generation so far installed across multiple municipal sites as part of a 25MW target within the next two years. 
• Enabling Capetonians to earn cash for power, with residents and businesses earning R67 million from selling 150 gigawatt hours of their excess solar power back to the City in exchange for municipal bill credits and cash since June 2024. Over 250 MVA of rooftop PV has since been installed across the city, which effectively reduces pressure on the grid and improves energy resilience.
• Introducing energy trading that is ‘wheeled’ across the City’s grid, with over 1 700 megawatt hours of power traded between power producers and consumers since 2024.
• Completion of feasibility studies and readiness to engage the market for development of a City-owned 70MW hybrid solar PV and battery storage power plant in Paardevlei by 2029. 
• Successfully mitigating 24% of load-shedding during the extended Eskom generation crisis period – the only city to do so.