South African utility Eskom has received a EUR 6.5 million (USD 6.9 million) grant from the French development agency Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to support the construction of a 1.5-GW pumped storage hydro complex. The funding, which was delegated by the European Union, was confirmed through an official agreement signed on Thursday.
The Tubatse pumped storage system will be located in the Elias Motsoaledi Municipality in Limpopo, South Africa's northernmost province. The facility will feature four 375-MW units, providing a total of 21 GWh of storage capacity. The project is expected to be implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, with the grant funds used to hire a transaction advisor for a feasibility study. This study will help secure a private developer for the project by the first quarter of 2026, with full implementation set to occur between 2025 and 2033.
The Tubatse project has been designated as a top-priority infrastructure project in South Africa, with the goal of advancing the country's renewable energy capacity. Eskom's group CEO, Dan Marokane, emphasized that the initiative will contribute to South Africa's transition from a high-carbon to a low-carbon economy.
Eskom has over 20 GW of clean energy projects in its pipeline, with plans to implement at least 2 GW of these projects over the next three years. The utility's portfolio includes solar, wind, hydropower, natural gas, nuclear, and pumped storage technologies.
