Spain-based Abengoa has been awarded the first two concentrated solar power (CSP) projects in South Africa by the country’s Department of Energy.
The CSP projects include Abengoa’s 50MW Khi Solar One and the 100MW parabolic trough plant KaXu Solar One.
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Abengoa’s two CSP plants represent a total investment of €1bn.
Khi Solar One will be on a 600ha site close to Upington, also in the Northern Cape Province.
The Khi Solar will be equipped with Abengoa’s solar tower technology using superheated steam, which uses higher temperatures during the generation process, doubling the plant capacity.
The facility will also use advanced dry cooling technology, which reduces water consumption by 80% and will have two hours of thermal storage to eliminate 183,000t of CO2 emissions every year.
The second project, KaXu Solar One, is on a 1,100ha site near the town of Pofadder in the Northern Cape province, and will have storage capability for three hours.
The plant also employs advanced dry cooling technology and will prevent 315,000t of CO2 emissions each year.
Abengoa will own a 51% stake in each of the projects, with the remaining 49% owned by the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).
The two plants will provide an energy resource that will allow for the production of more renewable sources, such as wind, increasing South Africa´s clean energy supplies.
Currently, Abengoa is building 1,010MW of solar plants all over the world with an additional 393MW already in operation.
Construction on the South African solar projects is expected to begin in the second half of 2012, with the plant online in 2014.
Abengoa provides innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environmental sectors.
