An additional 100MW of new solar power has been added to the grid, as the Karoshoek Solar One project went live in Upington, Northern Cape, on Friday (30 November).
Karoshoek is a concentrated solar project harvesting the sun’s energy through a series of concave mirrors, and using this energy to heat High Temperature Fluid, which then drives a steam turbine to convert the energy into electricity.
This project also has the capacity to store energy in enormous tanks containing molten salt, and can therefore continue to supply the grid during the evening peak, after the sun has set.
The project is located 30 km east of Upington, in an area that is described as one of the best places on earth to generate solar power. This is due to high levels of solar radiation as well as easy access to the national grid.
The project was originated by Pancho Ndebele of Emvelo Holdings and co-developed by Emvelo, and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Cobra (a Spanish company responsible for the construction of the plant) who respectively hold 15%, 20% and 20% shareholding in the project. The remaining shareholders in the project are the Community Trust, Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and , Hosken Consolidated Investment (HCI) respectively owning 15%, 20% and 10%. The plant was constructed by Dankocom, a joint venture between Spanish companies Cobra and Sener, and their local partner, Emvelo.
Commercial funding played a crucial role in enabling the project and was provided by Absa, DBSA, IDC, Investec, Nedbank, Standard Bank, PIC and Vantage Capital.