South Africa's first concentrated solar power plant commissioned

• 9 years ago (2015-03-07)
• Junior Isles

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Abengoa and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) have commissioned a 100 MW solar thermal power project secured in the first round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer's Programme (REIPPP).

The KaXu Solar One project was commissioned after around 2.5 years of construction and uses parabolic trough reflectors. The power plant also incorporates a storage system that generates power in the absence of solar energy.

Abengoa, the Spain-based renewable energy company, owns 51 per cent of the project while IDC has an additional 29 per cent; KaXu trust has the remaining 20 per cent stake.

A number of banks, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the European Investment Bank (EIB), provided the $1 billion needed for investment in the project.

Abengoa and IDC have also partnered for another 50 MW CSP project named The Khi Solar One project, which will use solar tower technology and will have 2 hours of storage capacity from saturated steam.