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Solar energy for sunny South Africa

Submitted by Lana on Wed, 22/12/2010 - 13:31

The next decade could be in the sign of solar power boom in South Africa. Providing the country secures the funding for an ambitious project, that is.

To that end, South African government organised a solar park conference in October 2010. Local and foreign investors were presented with a preliminary feasibility study and called upon to consider putting their money into building a solar park capable of generating 5,000MW of power – as much as one coal-fired power station.

Initial projections show that the park, probably to be situated in Upington (Northern Cape), would cost about R150 billion. South African government is counting on private investors to foot the bill. If the project generates enough interest, the construction could start in 2012 and last ten years.

With its abundant sunshine and a good track record in innovative technologies, including solar technologies, South Africa is ideally positioned to be in the forefront of developing clean and renewable energy sources.

It is hoped that an initial 1,000 MW of the solar park could be up and running by 2012, with some of the biggest investors probably coming from China. So far, several companies have announced readiness to invest in solar and renewable energy projects in South Africa:

  • Solairedirect, French renewable energy company, which started operating in Cape Town about two years ago, has plans broaden its South African plant for the production of roof integrated solar PV modules.
  • China's largest maker of solar panels and the world's largest crystalline silicon photovoltaic module manufacturer, Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Umsimbithi Holdings to jointly develop a solar energy plant in South Africa with the capacity of about 100MW.
  • In November 2010, China-based solar developer Yingli Solar, one of China's top three photovoltaic cell manufacturers, has embarked with the South African partner, Mulilo Renewable Energy, on developing a small-scale solar-energy project in the town of Copperton (Northern Cape), with the plans to expand its initial 10MW capacity to 500MW.
  • A month later, the same company, Mulilo Renewable Energy, announced that it has partnered with China's Longyuan Corporation to develop a wind facility at De Aar which will generate 100MW after completion.
  • It has also been reported that Italy’s Italgest Energia SpA is constructing a photovoltaic panels power plant in Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng. The plant should be operational by the end of 2012, with the capacity of 110MW .
  • And state-owned South African power utility Eskom, which currently supplies about 95% of country’s energy, is planning to use a part of its $3,75 billion (about R26.25 billion) World Bank loan towards building the two renewable energy projects, a 100MW wind farm near Skaapvlei and a 100MW concentrated solar power plant in Northern Cape province. Both projects had been previously put on hold due to Eskom’s financial woes. The construction could now start early in 2011.

The foreign and private initial projects come despite the absence of regulatory certainty. However, if the wished-for 5,000MW solar park is to see the light of the day, a lot of groundwork still needs to be done. One of the major hurdles is a delay in establishing an independent system and market operator in order to eliminate the conflict of interest in Eskom’s role as a power producer and power buyer.

Eskom has been battling to raise funds to pay for new power plants needed to supply fast rising demand. The funding gap for seven-year period is estimated at R190 billion, and the solar park would go a long way towards alleviating it.

The future of energy

South African government’s intention to promote the development of renewable energy is motivated by the need to ease South Africa's power deficit woes, on one side, and to help shift the country from is energy mainstay, coal, towards clean sources.

South Africa relies on coal for about 90% of its annual energy production, and the state-owned utility Eskom supplies some 95% of South Africa's power, with current capacity of around 40,000MW. Based on annual gross domestic product growth of 4.6%, the government energy plan estimates that by 2030 the country will need additional 52,000MW to meet fast-rising demand and avoid the repeat of a power crisis of 2008.

Renewable energies would boost the overall capacity and at the same time help the country to achieve its target of a 34% reduction of carbon emissions by 2020. According to experts, the energy industry is the biggest contributor to the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, putting South Africa among the top 20 emitters in the world.

The government’s focus is on nuclear power and renewable energy, with an emphasis on solar projects. By 2030, the plan is to change South Africa's existing power mix so that the reliance on coal is more than halved, to 47% of total generation capacity. About 14% is to be generated by nuclear power. To that end, six new nuclear plants would need to be built; South Africa currently operates the continent's only nuclear plant, a 1,800MW unit near Cape Town. A further 16% would be supplied by solar and other renewable energy sources.

After a promising start a decade ago (and a lot of government funding), Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) project, an innovative and technologically advanced high-temperature helium gas-cooled nuclear reactor, has been definitely abandoned couple of months ago.

Coal, being cheap, still has a major role to play. It has been recently announced that one more coal plant (in addition to two new ones) is in the offing. With the redeployment of three closed stations, that brings the total number of coal-fired power stations in the country to about two dozen. The promises of more stringent controls have not done much to assuage the concerns of environmentalists.

 


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