{"id":878181,"date":"2026-10-05T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=878181"},"modified":"2026-10-05T12:03:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T10:03:41","slug":"historic-188-year-old-town-in-south-africa-kissing-eskom-goodbye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/energy\/878181\/historic-188-year-old-town-in-south-africa-kissing-eskom-goodbye\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic 188-year-old town in South Africa kissing Eskom goodbye"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Riversdale in the Western Cape has reduced its reliance on the national grid by constructing a new solar energy plant, which can effectively power the whole municipality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town is part of the Hessequa municipality and sits between Cape Town and George along the Garden Route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area has a population of just under 72,000, according to South Africa’s 2022 census, making up roughly 22,300 households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 30 September 2026, the town saw the inauguration of the Riversdale Solar Plant, a renewable energy system designed to reduce the area’s dependence on Eskom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During its inauguration, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said the plant was an important step towards energy independence for the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is truly a special moment for the residents of Riversdale,” he said. “This plant is an important step towards energy independence.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new solar plant features a 10-megawatt peak (MWp) of solar photovoltaic capacity, which can produce up to 15 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plant also has a battery system, capable of storing up to 10 megawatt-hours, along with advanced monitoring and control systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between the solar array and the battery systems, energy advisor to the Premier, Alwie Lester, said the plant could effectively power Riversdale on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with CapeTalk, Lester explained that the solar plant’s total output could power the town if there are any disruptions to Eskom’s supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Should there be no supply from Eskom for whatever reason, the municipality would be able to supply itself,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winde also explained that the solar plant is integrated into the municipal grid, meaning it does not rely on Eskom’s infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The generation is actually embedded in the municipal network,” he said. “So it actually doesn’t run over the Eskom network at all.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We still use some of the Eskom energy. But if there is any issue on the Eskom side, then this town is able to supply itself.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the new development would also shield Riversdale residents from steep tariff increases imposed by Eskom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Western Cape’s Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism, Dr Ivan Meyer, said the plant would boost the area’s economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Reliable and affordable energy is essential for businesses to expand, farmers to produce, and communities to thrive,” he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This project demonstrates how innovation and partnership can unlock new opportunities for economic development while strengthening energy security in the Western Cape.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A historic tourist destination<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Riversdale is an historic town in the Western Cape, with a long history and a strong reputation for its natural beauty and tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its location along the Garden Route makes it a well-known tourist spot, particularly for its indigenous flowers and dramatic mountain backdrop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town has a long history, founded in 1838 around a local church on the Doornkraal farm, and named after the then civil commissioner of Swellendam, Harry Rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GardenRoute.com<\/a>, a site dedicated to areas along South Africa’s Western coastline, described the city as the “floral paradise of the Garden Route.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“During the winter months, the mountains and surrounding areas are an array of rainbow floral displays, which have earned the town recognition as the Floral Paradise of the Garden Route,” the site said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The site also noted that flower farms in the area are a major exporter of Proteas and Ericas, two well-known indigenous flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town also has a rich cultural heritage, including the Julius Gordon Africana Centre, which features displays from Thomas Bowler, a British painter known for his historic landscapes of the Cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town was also home to CJ Langenhoven for a brief period during the final years of his schooling career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Langenhoven is known as the father of Afrikaans as a language, and wrote the poem which inspired “Die Stem”, the controversial apartheid era national anthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Riversdale has something for everybody and visitors are warmly welcomed by its friendly residents,” GardenRoute.com said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A flourishing country town situated on the N2 highway between the Langeberg mountain range and the sea, and within easy reach of surrounding towns, Riversdale makes an ideal stopover or base for exploring the area.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the inauguration of its new solar power plant, Riversdale in the Western Cape has significantly cut its reliance on Eskom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":878234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2107063513013178375","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2227149251438807","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18064403786781990","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9874],"tags":[2148,17142,26699,26700,26698],"class_list":["post-878181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-alan-winde","tag-capetalk","tag-hessequa","tag-ivan-meyer","tag-riversdale"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=878181"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":878259,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878181\/revisions\/878259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/878234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}