OVERVIEW
Renewable energy Technical innovation comes to the Northern Cape.
SECTOR INSIGHT The tower at Khi Solar One is one of South Africa’s tallest structures.
T
he renewable energy revolution is speeding up. In recent months, landmarks such as the start of commercial operations by the 100MW Kathu Solar Park and the reaching of financial closure of the 147MW Roggeveld Wind Farm mark what can be described as the first phase of the coming of renewable energy to South Africa. In less than a decade, an entirely new sector has been created through legislation that invited local and foreign investors to bid for and then build renewable energy generation plants. South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP) requires 20 000MW of renewable energy by 2030. That will be achieved mainly through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). The wind and solar parks now spreading over the vast spaces of the Northern Cape indicate that renewable energy has well and truly arrived. Projects such as Kathu Solar Park, a concentrating solar power (CSP) project, and the Roggeveld Wind Farm are indicative of the large scale of most of the energy generation that is being rolled out, but at Black Rock Mine solar power is being put to use on a smaller, but no less important scale. To light the intersections leading to the mine, BEKA Schréder has installed solar-powered street lights. The 2018 signing ceremony by new Energy Minister Jeff Rabebe restarted the REIPPPP when he signed off on projects totalling R56-billion that will add 2 300MW to the national grid. There had been a long delay in the process as national utility Eskom argued NORTHERN CAPE BUSINESS 2019/20
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against accepting more power purchase agreements while they had a surplus. Most of South Africa’s electricity comes from coal and Eskom is building two huge coal-fired power stations. When a group of dignitaries gathered a month after that important signing ceremony to inaugurate a solar plant that covers 300ha in the Northern Cape, there was therefore a lot of optimism in the air. National government’s confirmation of its commitment to the REIPPPP is vital for growth. Approximately 60% of the projects so far allocated have been in the nation’s sunniest province. Xina Solar One is located at Pofadder on the N14 between Upington and Springbok. The R9.4-billion project is a joint venture between Spanish energy firm Abengoa Solar, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and a community trust representing the local population. The plant is Abengoa’s third in the Northern Cape. Kaxu Solar One is also near Pofadder but Khi Solar One is closer to Upington. All three use concentrated solar power which reflects the sun’s rays
