A provincial government in South Africa plans to spend 1.2bn rand ($66m; £55m) on building a solar farm in order to shield itself from the country’s energy crisis, local media report.
Gauteng’s Premier Panyaza Lesufi said this was part of the province’s plan to generate its own electricity and lessen its dependence on the state power firm Eskom.
“If we don’t tackle load-shedding and ensure that our province remains the economic hub of our country, we will face difficult challenges,” he is quoted as saying during an address in Johannesburg, the province’s state capital.
The state electricity company has been grappling with energy shortages in recent times with up to 10 hours of scheduled power cuts on a daily basis.