South Africa achieves its first CSP plant fuelled 100% by the sun
The 100 MW Redstone Solar Thermal Power Project will be located in Postmasburg, near Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province and will count with 12 hours of molten salt energy storage.
"The Redstone project marks important technology advancement for South Africa in solar power," said SolarReserve's CEO Kevin Smith. The 100 MW tower plant with 12 hours of energy storage will be able to deliver a stable electricity supply to more than 200,000 South African homes during peak demand periods, day and night.
"Due to the fully integrated thermal energy storage, the plant will provide dispatchable power on-demand, just like conventional coal, oil, nuclear or natural gas-fired power plants, but without the harmful emissions or hazardous materials and without any fuel cost. In addition, the project's delivered electricity price is the lowest of any CSP project in the country to date," added Smith.
This project also features dry cooling of the power generation cycle as an important element to minimize water use. The project technology will be based on SolarReserve's 110 MW Crescent Dunes project in the US, which is currently in final commissioning.
Leading developers in the country such as SolarReserve, ACWA Power, GDF Suez and Abengoa are meeting at CSP Today South Africa 2015 (14-15 April, Cape Town) to discuss project development and the next steps for the CSP industry in the region. Find out more information here: http://goo.gl/evblt4