Microgrid
ProjectsSubmit a project

Home / Directory / Robben Island Green Microgrid

Africa & Middle East / Island & remote community

Robben Island Green Microgrid

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations7
System facts22
Sources reviewed11
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Robben Island's actual green microgrid is a commissioned 2017 solar-plus-storage retrofit to the island's existing diesel grid, not a planning-only concept. It combines 666.4 kWp of monocrystalline PV, an ABB PowerStore lithium-ion battery rated 500 kW/837 kWh (government launch material rounds energy to 828 kWh), ABB Microgrid Plus controls and secure wireless remote operation, with diesel backup. SOLA Future Energy designed and built the R25 million system for South Africa's Department of Tourism.

Research status
Commissioned and publicly described as operating. SOLA's current project page still presents the island system and early measured results. A 2023 public-sector energy workshop visited the operating solar plant, while 2024/25 procurement records show continued diesel purchases and generator repairs, confirming that diesel remains an active part of island resilience. No current audited 2024-2026 PV output, battery state of health, availability, annual diesel displacement, or controller-upgrade record was found.
Historical classification
Island
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
-33.80761, 18.37123
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Robben Island Green Microgrid?

7 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

ABB

Storage, microgrid controls, solar inverters, and wireless network supplier [2]

Organization

ABB (now Hitachi Energy for the former Power Grids portfolio)

Supplier/integrator of PowerStore storage, Microgrid Plus control, PV inverters, communications and remote-operating capability. [7][8]

Organization

Robben Island Museum

Island management authority and operational host/user of the electric system; current procurement records show it continues to maintain diesel-dependent island infrastructure. [5][11]

Organization

SOLA Future Energy

Engineering, procurement, and construction contractor [2][3]

Organization

SOLA Future Energy / SOLA Group

Turnkey EPC contractor and system designer; publishes the current project page and first-two-month performance figures. [6][10]

Organization

South African Department of Tourism

Project sponsor, funder and customer under the Tourism Incentive Programme; launched the system in October 2017. [4][5]

Organization

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff

Technical advisor to the Department of Tourism in the procurement documents. [5]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

Solar PV
666.4–667 kWp; 1,960 monocrystalline modules [2][3]
Battery energy storage
500 kW / 837 kWh; 2,420 lithium-ion cells [3]
Solar PV
666.4 kWp from 1,960 monocrystalline modules on the southeast side of the island; 12 ABB solar inverters convert DC to AC. [6][8][10]
Battery
500 kW/837 kWh lithium-ion (approximately 1.67 hours at rated power) from 2,420 cells. The official launch says 828 kWh; 837 kWh is consistently reported by the EPC and equipment/project sources and is treated as the final nameplate while preserving the government rounding conflict. [6][4][10]
Existing diesel fleet
The 2015 procurement described four 300 kVA plus two 1,000 kVA units (3.2 MVA installed), with only two 300 kVA and one 1,000 kVA unit then operational. A later ABB case slide simplifies the integrated operating system as one 500 kW diesel unit; that should not be mistaken for the entire island's installed diesel inventory. [5][9]
Historical island load
Approximately 450 kW average in the 2015 tender. This is a design-era load and not a current measured peak or energy total. [5]
Expected renewable contribution
Launch reporting said the solar-and-battery portion would supply almost half of annual electricity, with ABB forecasting solar operation for at least nine months/year and about seven hours of battery supply after sunset. Those are design/marketing expectations, not a guarantee of nine diesel-free continuous months. [10][8]
Cost
R25 million project cost at launch. [4][10]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Microgrid controller

ABB — Microgrid Plus

Balances solar, PowerStore storage, changing demand, and diesel backup with cloud-enabled remote operation. [2]

02

Battery energy storage

ABB — Ability PowerStore

Containerized modular storage system rated by the EPC at 500 kW / 837 kWh. [2][3]

03

Communications

ABB — ABB Ability wireless network

Connects the solar plant to the microgrid and Cape Town operations center. [2]

04

Solar inverters

ABB

Model not stated in the reviewed project release. [2]

05

Battery energy storage

ABB — ABB Ability PowerStore

Containerized lithium-ion storage rated 500 kW/837 kWh. Cell maker and chemistry subtype were not publicly identified. [7][10]

06

Microgrid control

ABB — Microgrid Plus

Balances PV, storage, load and diesel backup; cloud-connected remote operation and set-point management are available from a Cape Town operations center. [7][10]

07

PV inverters

ABB

Twelve inverters. Public project sources do not identify the exact model or individual rating. [8][10]

08

Communications

ABB

ABB Ability secure wireless network joining the solar plant to the island microgrid and mainland control center, avoiding new cable trenches at the heritage site. [7][8]

09

PV modules

Model not publicly disclosed

1,960 monocrystalline modules. Maker and model were not disclosed in the reliable public sources reviewed. [6]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Operating sequence

    PV is prioritized for the island's daytime load; the battery absorbs surplus and supports cloudy periods and nighttime demand; diesel starts or carries load when PV and usable battery energy are insufficient. Distributed local intelligence handles source coordination, with centralized data collection/SCADA-like supervision. [6][7]

  • Early performance

    SOLA reports 187,000 kWh of solar electricity in the first two months, 53,685 litres of diesel saved, and 495 tonnes of CO2 equivalent avoided. These figures are developer-reported and are not a full-year audited performance record. [6]

  • Pre-project baseline and targets

    ABB said the island had used roughly 600,000 litres/year of diesel and forecast a 75% reduction in fuel cost and carbon emissions. Government reporting projected at least 820 tonnes/year of avoided emissions and an approximately 25-year operating life; actual long-term realized savings are not publicly quantified. [8][10]

  • Grid topology

    The original system generated at 400 V and stepped up to an 11 kV island reticulation network. The tender required off-grid-capable inverters, an 11 kV mini-substation/ring-main interface, protection, metering and communications. [5]

  • Current operational caveat

    Robben Island Museum's 2024/25 records include diesel supply and a generator repair. This supports the documented hybrid architecture and continuing backup role; it is not evidence that the solar or battery is failed. No current component-level condition report was found. [11][6]

Provenance

11 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2020-07-06

  2. [2]
  3. [3]
    Robben Island project reference

    SOLA Group · Primary source

  4. [4]
    Robben Island Powered by Solar Mini-grid

    South African Government News Agency · Primary source

  5. [5]
  6. [6]
  7. [7]
  8. [8]
    The Energy Example of Robben Island, Mandela's Prison

    Hitachi Energy / former ABB Power Grids · Primary source

  9. [9]
    Improving the Integration of Renewables with Energy Storage in Islands

    ABB / International Hybrid Power Systems Workshop · Primary source

  10. [10]
    Robben Island Inaugurates Solar PV Microgrid

    Engineering News · Secondary research

  11. [11]
    Public Procurement Deviations, Quarter 4 2024/25

    South African National Treasury / Office of the Chief Procurement Officer · Primary source

Continue exploring

Related projects in Africa & Middle East