Since Xi's visit, work on the Redstone power plant has accelerated, with the steam generation system and solar receiving system already completed. Trial operations are expected to start this month, and full operation is scheduled before the end of the year, said Xie Yanjun, deputy director and chief engineer of the project, which is being built by SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Co, a subsidiary of PowerChina.

Gloria Kgoronyane, a resident of Jroenwatel village, which is located near the project site, said she is eagerly waiting for the Redstone plant to begin operations, and hopes that more power plants can be built to ease the severe power shortage, which has adversely affected her life over the past few years.

"Load shedding has become more frequent since 2022, and nowadays in my village, every day we experience between two and four hours of power cuts," she said. "We cannot watch TV, and sometimes the meat in the fridge rots due to load shedding, so I have to throw it out."