French development agencyAgence Française de Développement is investing ZAR 125 million in a hydro storage system project in South Africa, to be developed by state-owned utility Eskom.

The Tubatse Pumped Storage System project will be built in Elias Motsoaledi, Limpopo.

It is set to feature a power generation capacity of 1.5 GW, consisting of four 375 MW units, alongside a storage capacity of 21 GWh and has been billed as a top priority by the Infrastructure South Africa Programme.

Eskom plans to develop the project as a public-private partnership, with a private sector participation feasibility study scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2026. The project’s implementation is scheduled between 2025 and 2033.

A statement from Eskom Group Chief Executive Dan Marokane says large-scale storage and grid services are necessary to support South Africa’s renewable energy development.

“Without large-scale facilities such as Tubatse, the management of intermittent power from renewable energy – wind and photovoltaics – would be very difficult without the kind of intervention that pump storage systems offer,” said Marokane.

He noted that Eskom plans to execute at least 2 GW of projects within the next three years, consisting of solar, wind, hydro, gas, nuclear and pump storage, from an existing pipeline of projects that totals 20 GW.

Earlier this month, South Africa’s national energy regulator granted Eskom licenses for two new solar projects that will generate a combined 125.3 MW.