World’s Biggest Solar Park Set for Sunny South Africa
South Africa has the space and the sunlight, so what better region to plan a 5-gigawatt solar park that could not only generate massive amounts of solar energy, but also serve as a field test for emerging technologies in PV energy, concentrating photovoltaic PV and concentrating solar power, or CSP.
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The goal is ambitious, but the path is uncertain, so the South African government recently selected Irving, Texas-based Fluor Corporation to study the logistics for an undisclosed amount under contract.
Fluor, a global engineering design/build firm that built its reputation on the back of the emerging petroleum industry in the 1920s, today works in industries as diverse as life science and telecommunications, with renewable energy a growing area of expertise.
According to Reuters, the initiative is a natural extension of a pre-feasibility study conducted by the Clinton Climate Initiative (William J. Clinton Foundation), which allows Fluor to flesh out a master plan to be unveiled at the South African Solar Park Investors Conference, Oct. 28 and 29, in Northern Cape Province, where the solar park would be located.
The Clinton Climate Initiative, in May of 2009 and in cooperation with the U.S. Green Building Council (which formulates and regulates LEED), launched a program called the Climate Positive Development Program, which offers a Climate Positive greenhouse gas metric by which to evaluate urban expansion at home and abroad.
According to South Africa’s Department of Energy, final costs could run as high as $22 billion (150 billion rand), and South African Minister of Energy Dipuo Peters sees the project as presenting his regions with a singular opportunity to take the lead in South African solar technology manufacture.
And in fact, what better place to start than in an area blessed with 1,800 to 2,200 kilowatt hours per square meter (kWh/sq m) of insolation? For comparison, the best that sunny California can do is only about 700 kWh/sq m.
My only complaint? Why wasn’t former president Bill Clinton this active in the solar energy movement during his presidency?
Photo Credit: Alejandro Flores & Steve Jurvetson via Flickr CC
Posted on October 15th in Solar News by Jeanne.
October 18th, 2010 at 9:46 am
I built a similar system in arizona with some panels I got from sunelec.com and they were inexpensive. Africa has a huge build though!
October 21st, 2010 at 4:28 am
woooooooooooow this is huge they thought big and it will be a very good power source
October 21st, 2010 at 9:15 am
Yep! Can’t wait to see a similar system in the U.S. How about you?
October 26th, 2010 at 7:01 am
[...] Solar reports that the solar park could “serve as a field test for emerging technologies in PV energy, concentrating photovoltaic PV [...]
October 26th, 2010 at 9:49 am
You it would be very useful for pushing technology, as well as for generating electricity.
October 26th, 2010 at 10:53 am
I would like to see some more technical details – eg how does it connect to SA’s grid, how they plan to keep the mirrors clean, etc.
October 27th, 2010 at 1:38 am
[...] Solar reports that the solar park could “serve as a field test for emerging technologies in PV energy, concentrating photovoltaic PV [...]
October 29th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
“For comparison, the best that sunny California can do is only about 700 kWh/sq m.”
I don’t know where this is coming from. The linked-to report doesn’t say it, and it isn’t true. Large tracts of California desert average more than 7 kW.h/m^2 per day = 2500 kW.h/m^2 per year.
http://www.nrel.gov/csp/images/3pct_csp_ca.jpg
November 1st, 2010 at 10:46 am
The information is here: http://cleantechnica.com/2010/10/26/worlds-largest-solar-park-to-be-in-south-africa/
November 1st, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Cleantechnica’s post is based on *yours*: “CalFinder Solar reports that the solar park …”.
November 1st, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Read page 6; However, much of California’s Central Valley and the southern part of the state also
have insolation values ranging from 5 to 7.5 kwhrs/m2-day
November 2nd, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Right, and 5 to 7.5 kW-h/m2/day = 1800 to 2700 kW-h/m2/year.
So why are you saying that “the best that sunny California can do is only about 700 kWh/sq m”?
November 2nd, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Mr. Wood, I’m interpreting kWh/sq m to read kilowatt hours per square meter. If you look at the map on page 7, it shows 7,000 Whr (700 kWh)/sq m per day. The conversion to per year doesn’t change the value, I would guess, but you’re likely right, given the longitudes of Africa and California, and I’m going to say my remark was frivolous, hasty and wrong. Tell us what you know instead.
November 2nd, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Ah! 7,000 Wh = 7 kWh, not 700 kWh.
November 3rd, 2010 at 5:14 am
Thanks again, and yes, you’ve discovered my fatal flaw. I’m terrible at math (a fact I should remember when using statistics). On the other hand, it prompted you to share your observations with us, so that’s a plus!
November 3rd, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Let him who has never dropped a decimal point cast the first stone. … [crickets]
November 3rd, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Write on!