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Africa & Middle East / Island & remote community

Robben Island Green Microgrid

Organizations, planners, suppliers, equipment, controls, and reported system specifications—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations4
System facts6
Sources reviewed3
Last researched2026-07-19

Robben Island's solar-battery-diesel microgrid was funded by South Africa's Department of Tourism, delivered by SOLA Future Energy, and integrated with ABB storage, controls, inverters, and wireless communications.

Research status
Operational; commissioned in 2017
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?

4 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

Robben Island Museum

Project host and island operator [2]

Organization

SOLA Future Energy

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

Organization

South African Department of Tourism

Project funder [2]

System evidence

Reported capacity and specifications

Values can describe different project phases or 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]

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]

Provenance

3 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

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