Engineering group Sener says it has completed construction of the Ilanga-1 concentrated solar power plant (CSP) in South Africa.
Sener and its partners Emvelo and Cobra say that they reached the certificate to initiate commercial operation of the 100 MWe CSP project on 30th November, marking the end of the construction and commissioning phase of the plant.
The plant has been handed over to the owner, Karoshoek Solar One, and will start to supply electricity to South Africa’s national grid via utility Eskom. It is the first CSP plant in the history of the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPPP) that was conceived and developed by a 100 per cent black owned South African entity, Emvelo said in a statement.
“This is a historic moment in South Africa’s energy transition as another renewable energy power plant that supplies clean, reliable, sustainable and dispatchable energy is successfully completed,” said Siyabonga Mbanjwa, Regional Managing Director for SENER Southern Africa. “We are particularly pleased that it was completed on time, within budget, within the required quality standards, in line with the contracted output performance and within acceptable safety standards.”
Ilanga-1 consists of 266 Sener Trough loops with around 870 000 m2 of curved mirrors and is equipped with a molten salt storage system that allows five hours of thermal energy storage and extends the operational capacity of the plant.
Karoshoek Solar One awarded Sener, Cobra and Emvelo the contract to provide engineering, procurement and construction services for the project, as well as operate and maintain the plant.
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