page_title: Solar power in South Africa
section_title: Operational and projected plants
hierarchical_section_title: Solar power in South Africa / Operational and projected plants
caption_attribution_description: English: Bird's eye view of Khi Solar One (Picture October 2016) Deutsch: Khi Solar One aus der Vogelperspektive (Bild vom Oktober 2016)
context_page_description: Solar power in South Africa includes photovoltaics as well as concentrated solar power.
  In 2016, South Africa had 1,329 MW of installed solar power capacity.
  Installed capacity is expected to reach 8,400 MW by 2030.
  In 2014 several solar farms were commissioned, including the 96 MW Jasper Solar Energy Project, one of Africa's largest photovoltaic power stations providing enough solar power for 30,000 homes.
context_section_description: The 50 MW Touwsrivier CPV Solar Project  concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) power plant was constructed in Touwsrivier, in Western Cape, South Africa in December 2014.  A 75 MW solar power plant started production on September 13, 2013 in Kalkbult, in the Northern Cape (implemented by Scatec).
  Two other PV plants were completed by the same company in 2014. These are located at Linde in the Northern Cape and Dreunberg in the Eastern Cape, both sun drenched regions boasting some of the best conditions for solar power in the world. Altogether, these 3 plants provide power for around 90,000 South African households.
  Sonnedix and Juwi have announced that they will construct an 86 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Northern Cape province. The Mulilo Sonnedix plant in Prieska plant will be larger than any PV plant currently on line in the African continent, and was awarded through the third round of the South Africa's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP). Financial close on the project is targeted for July 2014, with commissioning planned for the second half of 2016.
  Iberdrola has completed the Jasper Solar Energy Project solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant, which at 96 MW is the largest in Africa, the company announced. It was carried out in a desert area with extreme temperatures and involved the installation of over 325,000 PV modules. This PV plant is located in Northern Cape province in a remote, semi-desert location. It covers a surface area equivalent to 205 football pitches.
  Acciona has put the Sishen solar photovoltaic (PV) plant into service in December 2014. It has a peak capacity of 94.3 megawatts (MWp) – 74 nominal MW – and is located in Dibeng in the Northern Cape province. Its horizontal tracking structures allow the PV panels to capture more radiation by following the sun's trajectory across the sky. The plant will produce electricity equivalent to the consumption of around 100,000 South African households, or around 420,000 people (2011 South African household size = 3.6 persons).
  As of January 2015 a total of 593 MW produced from PV plants were connected to the grid.
  A consortium led by ACWA Power International (Saudi Arabia) has completed commissioning of a 50 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) project in South Africa's Northern Cape in Dec-2015.
  The Bokpoort CSP project includes 9.3 hours of thermal energy storage, which will allow it to meet demand during peak hours between 5 and 9 PM. ACWA describes this system as the largest thermal storage system ever built for a CSP plant of its size and capacity. The South African solar power plant has set a new African record (26 April 2016) for the continuous, round the clock supply of electricity.
  Two CSP plants are being built by Abengoa in the Northern Cape. Khi Solar One is a Solar Tower plant of 50 MW capacity near Upington and Kaxu Solar One is a Parabolic Trough plant of 100 MW capacity near Pofadder with storage capability for 3 hours. Xina Solar One has a total installed capacity of 100 MW, also near Pofadder.
caption: Bird's eye view of Khi Solar One (October 2016)
  Focusing light above the tower
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 70D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2016:10:10 09:01:55", "Image ExifOffset": "166", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/160", "EXIF FNumber": "13", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Landscape Mode", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:10:10 09:01:55", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:10:10 09:01:55", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "59/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "59/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4679/1313", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "22", "EXIF SubSecTime": "29", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "29", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "29", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "5472", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3648", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "231297/38", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "121803/20", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "143026001473", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[18, 135, 0, 0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF-S18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "000028c5fa"}