South Africa






Eskom, the national power utility, generates approximately 95% of the electricity used in South Africa and approximately 45% of the electricity used in Africa. The average age of the power plants in its fleet is 34 years. In June 2015 it was estimated that the serviced power plants were roughly 40% of the fleet. Those in fair condition, 12% of the fleet. poor condition, 21% of the fleet and those in critical condition, 26% of the fleet. Eskom, which imposes rolling blackouts due to inadequate electricity capacity, is facing a funding gap to 2018 of up to R200 bn. Eskom also faces a 17 million tonne coal shortfall by 2017 at its coal-fired power plants.The shortfall is anticipated in 2015 at the Matla, Tutuka and Hendrina power stations and in 2016 at the Kriel and Arnot Power Stations. 
Eskom has instituted a rule that all its coal suppliers must be at least 51% black owned. The result is chaotic because there is no well-established and reliable group of black-owned suppliers to fill this need. Established suppliers like Anglo American are having to sell their coal businesses because they are no longer allowed to sell their coal to Eskom. The result could well be the creation of another major power crisis by 2018 when current contracts run out. Eskom will then need to secure a supply of 3 billion tonnes of coal over 25 years. Moreover Eskom will also need to extend the life of its own tied collieries. This will require an investment of R60 billion over the next 20 years and the only way that can be funded is through even higher electricity price increases, which would have gravely deleterious effects on a range of other industries. This is a classic example of an industry already in deep trouble tying itself into unnecessary knots simply in order to placate key interest groups within the black elite. It seems likely that the ultimate result will be coal shortages at power stations – by which time the major alternative suppliers will have gone out of business. The only alternative would be to import coal, which would be expensive – and anyway impossible because no infrastructure exists at the ports or on the railways to deal with large scale coal imports. Any deal that might be done over nuclear power would, of course, take many years to come into effect.
-  R W Johnson
Eskom was spending about R1bn per month on diesel to power its open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) early in 2015, using this expensive technology to avoid the impact of load shedding, but was working with PetroSA on OCGT conversion from diesel to dual fuel, using both diesel and gas. The gas-based Independent Power Producer (IPP) programme is supposed to deliver 3 126 MW of gas-fired power generation between 2019 to 2025.
South Africa's ageing electricity transmission grid needs investment of $15 billion by 2022 to help cope with increased new energy production, according to a German state development bank, KfW . Africa's most advanced economy is investing heavily in renewable energy to counter chronic electricity deficits but power utility Eskom's ageing grid is making feeding more electricity into the system difficult. The renewable energy programmes aim to deliver 17.8 GW of green power by 2030 with 1 827 MW renewable energy in 2015 contributing to an installed capacity of 45 000 MW.




In 2015 Eskom received a R83bn bailout because it couldn’t cover its capital costs via sales.


Thermal power stations

  • Acacia Gas Turbine Power Station is situated on the outskirts of the city of Cape Town in the Western Cape. and consists of three 57 MW gas turbine engines at an installed capacity of 171 MW.
  • Ankerlig Open Cycle Gas Turbine Station is    in the industrial area of Atlantis in the Western Cape. It is an Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGT) station with an installed capacity of 1 327 MW. It is 6 years old.
  • Arnot Power Station is approximately 50 km east of Middelburg in Mpumalanga.and has an installed capacity of 2 100 MW. It is 31 years old and was recommissioned in
  • Camden Power Station is situated close to Ermelo in Mpumalanga and has an installed capacity of 1 600 MW. Camden, Grootvlei and Komati, were mothballed in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and returned to service in 2010.
  • Duvha Power Station is approximately 15 km east of Witbank in Mpumalanga and has an installed capacity of 3 450 MW. It is 22 years old and had a raptured boiler in June 2015.
  • Grootvlei Power Station is situated close to the town of Balfour in Mpumalanga and has an Installed capacity:of 1 200 MW. It is 32 years old.
  • Hendrina Power Station is approximately 40km south of Middelburg in Mpumalanga and has an installed capacity of 2 000 MW. It is 39 years old. Eskom did not have a contingency plan should coal supplies at its Hendrina Power Station be depleted, after administrators suspended a supply deal with Optimum Coal Mine on 21 August 2015. Hendrina Power Station had 40 days worth of coal supply. Glencore said that its Optimum Coal Mine was under financial strain because it was selling coal to Eskom for less than the cost of production. 
  • Kendal Power Station is  approximately 40km southwest of Witbank in Mpumalanga and has an installed capacity of 4 116 MW. It is 22 years old
  • Komati Power Station is situated between Middelburg and Bethal in Mpumalanga and has an installed capacity of 1000 MW. It is 49 years old.
  • Kriel Power Station is between the towns of Kriel and Ogies in Mpumalanga and has an installed capacity of 2 850 MW. It is 36 years old.
  • Lethabo Power Station is between Vereeniging and Sasolburg in the Free State and has an installed capacity of 3 708 MW.
  • Majuba Power Station is between Volksrust and Amersfoort in Mpumalanga and has an installed capacity of 4 110 MW.
  • Matimba Power Station is close to Ellisras in the Northern Province and has an installed capacity of 3 990 MW.
  • Matla Power Station is approximately 30 km from Secunda in Mpumalanga and has an installed capacity of 3 600 MW. It is 32 years old.
  • Tutuka Power Station is between Standerton and Bethal, approximately 25 km from Standerton in Mpumalanga.and has an installed capacity of 3 654 MW. It is 25 years old.
  • Kusile Power Station Project is located near the existing Kendal power station, in the Nkangala district of Mpumalanga, will have an installed capacity of 4 800 MW.
  • Kelvin Power Station is located near OR Tambo International Airport. Johannesburg. Kelvin is one of only a few power stations in South Africa not owned by Eskom. Until 2001 the power station was the property of the City of Johannesburg, but it has since been privatised, resold a number of times, and is currently owned by Investec and Nedbank Capital. Kelvin consist of two independent stations. The A station (shut down in 2012) has six 30 MW generators. The newer B station has seven 60 MW generators.
Gas-fired Power Plants
  • South Africa’s first gas-fired power plant built by  Sasol at its Sasolburg site, has an operating capacity of 140 MW. The investment is also the largest single investment in gas engine technology in Africa.  The facility has consistently been producing above its operating capacity at 152 MW since commissioning in December 2012.
  • The Newcastle Cogeneration Power Plant owned by Ipsa  in Newcastle produces both steam and electricity with a nominal power capacity of 18 MW 
  •  Gourikwa OCGT Power Station near Mossel Bay has a capacity of 750 MW.
Gas powered plants require less time to build and install, taking between 20 to 30 months, opposed to the 40 to 50 months required for a coal power plant and 60 to 80 months for a nuclear plant. Dr Peter van Berge, an ex-Sasol chemical engineer, believes that two gas-fired power stations with a capacity of 5 000 MW each, together with existing coal-fired plants being built and Cahora Bassa, can provide enough power for South Africa and Mozambique for 30 years. The estimated cost would be less than R200 billion. It would require the purchase of 18.7 tcf (trillion cubic feet) of natural gas from Mozambique which has a present natural gas  reserve of 100 tcf. 

Biomass electricity
  • Johannesburg Landfill Gas to Electricity near Johannesburg has a capacity of 18 MW and is partially operational. A consortium led by Ener-G Systems was named as a preferred bidder for a R288-million project to convert gas generated at five Pikitup landfill sites into electricity over a 20-year period. The methane-rich gas will be collected at Robinson Deep, Goudkoppies, Marie Louise, Ennerdale and Linbro Park, where it will be converted into electricity through on-site generators and fed into the grid through either Eskom or City Power distribution infrastructure. The electricity will be sold to Eskom for 94c/kWh.
  • BMW partners with Bio2Watt for renewable energy


According to the Southern African Biogas Industry Association, biogas can contribute 2.5 GW of generation capacity in the country, using wastewater, food waste, manure, agricultural residues and commercial processes including abattoirs, breweries and cheese factories.

Fuel cell electricity
  • Anglo American Platinum Ltd is testing the world’s first fuel cell-driven grid in South Africa as an alternative electricity source for remote areas where expanding the national network would be too costly. Amplats, as the world’s largest producer of platinum is known, and Ballard Power Systems Inc will power 34 households for a 12-month period with a prototype, which is fueled by methanol and uses platinum group metals as catalysts. The successful completion of this phase will see the technology being rolled out with a pilot test of 200 to 300 units in villages across rural South Africa. The system is designed to provide a total of 15 kW of fuel cell-generated electric power and can supply as much as 70 kW with the support of batteries.
  • A 2.5 kW fuel cell power-generator unit at UWC provides power for lights at the Cape Flats Nature Reserve.
  • Another fuel cell project is used as standby power at three schools in Cofimvaba, in the rural Eastern Cape,
  • FlyH2 Aerospace's hydrogen fuel cell unmanned aircraft will provide aerial data solutions to companies and organisations in South Africa - particularly in infrastructure management, land cover analysis, mapping and environmental surveying. Its fuel cell partner, HySA Catalysis have filed 5 patents particularly well suited to aerospace applications. FlyH2 have an exclusivity agreement with HySA Catalysis for use of these patents in the unmanned aircraft sector
  • The South African government has embarked on an ambitious National Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Technologies Flagship project, branded as Hydrogen South Africa, HySA. The aim is to establish South Africa as one of the few nations that export high-value products into the growing international hydrogen and fuel cells markets. As custodian of some 80% of the world's Pt and Rh reserves, South Africa's future role is no longer exclusively as the supplier of raw materials but as a manufacturer of value-added components. HySA/Catalysis, co-hosted by the University of Cape Town and Mintek, is one of three Centres of Competence tasked with the establishment of a technical and scientific base for distinctly South African contributions to the global hydrogen and fuel cell technology know-how. Its mandate includes the components in the early part of the value chain, catalysts and catalytic devices. World-renowned fuel cell scientist Dr Sharon Blair would like to see South Africa supply 25% of the global demand for fuel cells by 2020, stating that the country has a tremendous opportunity to develop the industry and capture a share of the growing sector. Blair, the director of the HySA/Catalysis Centre of Competence, cohosted by the University of Cape Town (UCT) and Mintek, explained in October 2015 that they were currently looking at producing 5 000 to 10 000 units a year, but would be able to expand this substantially if the uptake was successful

 .Partners and networks are:

Nuclear power stations
  • Koeberg Nuclear Power Station,   approximately 30 km northwest of Cape Town, close to Melkbosstrand, is .the only nuclear power station in Africa,  and has an Installed capacity: 1 800  MW. It is 30 years old. Low and intermediate level waste from Koeberg is transported by road in steel and concrete containers to a remote disposal site at Vaalputs, 600 km away in the Kalahari Desert. High level waste, the spent fuel, is stored on site in special pools quipped with high-density racking.
  • The South African government has plans to build nuclear-powered stations with an installed capacity of 9 600 MW by 2030. It has held nuclear workshops with Russia, China, the US, France, South Korea, Japan and Canada on new facilities, ignoring objections from environmental activists, opposition parties, unions and even its own advisers. Price-tag estimates for as many as eight reactors generating 9 600 megawatts, which the government wants to begin operating from 2023 and complete by 2029, range from $37bn to $100bn. Russia’s Rosatom is seen as a leader. Areva SA, EDF SA, Toshiba’s Westinghouse Electric Corporation, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding and Korea Electric Power have also shown interest. Rosatom is building nine reactors in Russia and 29 elsewhere. It controls the entire process from uranium purchase and fuel fabrication to design, construction and commissioning of plants. Rosatom has suggested several funding models, including helping South Africa secure a Russian loan. The loan duration might be 20 years and South Africa would only start repayment when the first plant starts operating.The Department of Energy has signed two memoranda of understanding with Rosatom. The countries will cooperate to provide training for five categories of specialists for the South African nuclear industry: nuclear power plant personnel, engineers and construction workers, staff for operations not related to the power industry, personnel for nuclear infrastructure, students and teachers. There will also be education programmes for 200 South African candidates at Russian universities and educational organisations. This memorandum stipulates the development of educational materials and scientific literature on nuclear power, student exchange programmes for students of various levels of training, organisation of internships and summer courses, student competitions and teacher training. The second memorandum stipulates joint efforts of the parties to promote nuclear power in South Africa, increasing the awareness of local residents of modern nuclear technologies used in the power industry and in other industries, and ensuring public acceptance of nuclear power. In particular, the parties have agreed to work out a plan for the implementation of a joint communication programme to be launched in South Africa. This will involve the organisation of round tables and other events aimed at promoting nuclear power and modern nuclear technologies. A nuclear energy information centre in South Africa is also under consideration.The Department of Energy’s 2013 master-plan, rejected by the government, suggested deferring a decision on building atomic power facilities until at least 2025, and scrapping the idea if the cost exceeded about R80 500 per kilowatt of capacity. Countries such as Pakistan, Turkey and Belarus were paying about R52 000 per installed kilowatt, and India, China and South Korea about R31 000
SA is at a crossroads with nuclear energy

-Vladimir Slivyak, famous in South Africa for leaking the secret Intergovernmental Framework Agreement between Russia and South Africa for the procurement of 9600 MW of nuclear power. Slivyak is a senior lecturer in environmental policy at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. 
The South African government announced a nuclear energy procurement process that will be over in early 2016.
While nuclear agreements with other countries includes no details, the one South Africa has signed with Russia includes the type of reactor technology to be used, locations of future nuclear plants, liability in case of a nuclear accident, which will be South African.
This agreement also reserves the right for Russia to veto nuclear cooperation with other countries. Sounds very much like binding, even if some officials say otherwise.
Thyspunt, Bantamsklip and Koeberg are fixed in Russian agreement as nuclear sites along with others unidentified yet. The Department of Energy announced one more site in KwaZulu-Natal several weeks ago.
The total capacity of nuclear plants will be 9.6 GW, according to the agreement.
That equals to eight new Russian reactors of VVER-1200 type. None of those reactors are in operation in Russia or any other country. No verified safety record exists for it. Older designs of such reactors - VVER-1000 – are known for serious accidents, including hydrogen explosion at Russian Kalinin nuclear plant in late 2011.

Another issue associated with it is the constant leakages of radioactive tritium that comes out of the reactor during routine operation, along with cooling water discharged to the environment. Tritium may cause a genetic disorder if it gets into the human body.
How will SA pay R1.37 trillion for nuclear?
The cost of the new nuclear build programme in South Africa is estimated to be close to R1.37 trn, while it is not clear where money would come from. Russia is experiencing one of the biggest economic troubles in history and cutting down nuclear and other development programmes at home.
Even at better times, Russia never funded foreign reactor construction with anything close to this amount. Five years ago, it promised to build a $20 bn nuclear plant in Turkey, but active construction of reactors didn’t start until today and what was delivered did not exceed $1bn.
According to media reports in Russia, state nuclear corporation Rosatom is not only viewing South Africa as the next place to export its reactors, but also wants to build other parts of so-called nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium production. There are small reserves of uranium in Russia and Rosatom is keen to get access to deposits around the world. Threats that are associated with industrial scale mining require no explanation in Johannesburg, which is surrounded by old mines continuously poisoning drinking water and damaging public health in townships.
New Russian reactor costs about $5-6bn, according to Rosatom. However, two known independent economic assessments conducted in this field were concluding with much higher numbers. In Bulgaria, where government hired HSBC bank to do an assessment, experts came up with the estimate of €10 bn per reactor, compared to an earlier promise by Rosatom to build it for €4 bn. Soon after Fukushima, the Bulgarian government cancelled the contract, saying it can not afford Russian reactors. In Finland, where an agreement was signed several years ago, but nothing is under construction yet, independent experts estimated the cost of a new Russian reactor at €7.7 billion. (Euro = $1.128 as of August 28, Bloomberg spot exchange rate).
This is not only case with Russia.
Delays in nuclear construction
French Areva promised the Finnish government that it will build a new reactor for €3 bn almost one decade ago. Today the cost of construction is estimated at around €8 bn and almost decade behind the schedule.
Delays are another issue, which may add to the cost of construction significantly. On average, it takes about decade to build a reactor, but some of it has been under construction for over 30 years. This technology will obviously not help to solve the load shedding in the visible future. If going ahead with nuclear, South Africa would start to pay soon, while energy will come much later if it will come at all.
But would nuclear deliver cheap electricity? Current studies done in South Africa suggest it will not. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) projects the levelised cost of electricity from nuclear power to be R1/kWh, from new coal R0.80/ kWh, solar photovoltaic R0.80/ kWh, and wind R0.60/kWh in today’s prices. The analysis done by the Energy Research Centre at the University of Cape Town also projects a high risk that the levelised cost of nuclear energy will come out higher than most other technologies.
Add here problems South Africa will experience later with large amounts of nuclear waste and reactor decommissioning that may become as expensive as construction itself. None of the other energy technologies leave waste that will be dangerous for thousands of years with the necessity of very expensive treatment.
Nuclear energy on the decline
It is no surprise that this problematic technology has been on the decline around the world. Contribution of nuclear to the world’s primary energy production dropped from 8% in 2000 to just about 4.4% in 2014. It will continue declining as hundreds of reactors are coming to the end of its designed operation lifetime in the next two decades.
When one source of energy is shrinking, there must be something else to replace it. In most of the countries it is renewable energy. There are technologies that can provide baseload power, for example concentrated solar thermal energy, geothermal and others. But what about the expensiveness of renewables? Next year, Kenya is expected to add 1.4 GW in renewable capacity. Solar power plants at nine sites that could provide more than half the country’s electricity by 2016 and electricity costs could go down by as much as 80%. On August 24, according to Bloomberg, German wholesale electricity prices tumbled to a 12-year low. No surprise that renewable energy has been the investment champion around the world for long time.
It is clear that any decision to develop nuclear today would be uneconomic. But nuclear power has always been a political issue. For developing countries, a matter of being seen as more developed and respected. For developed countries, one of most effective instruments to create more dependence around the world on their technology, services and fuel. Nuclear would be dead long ago if treated solely as business. For one simple reason, you can take your billions and invest in many other places getting it back with benefit much faster than in 20 years.
It is crystal clear that South Africa is at the crossroad. Going ahead with nuclear will take all available resources and put the country into giant debt. Fortunately, there are healthier alternatives that will benefit stability and economic growth.
Hydroelectric power stations
  • Gariep hydroelectric power station  is 300 metres downstream of the Gariep Dam wall on the banks of the Orange River, near Norvalspont in the Eastern Cape. It has an Installed capacity:of 360 MW.
  • Vanderkloof Power Station is situated underground at the Vanderkloof Dam near Petrusville in the Northern Cape and has an installed capacity of 240 MW.
  • Kruisvallei Hydro near Bethlehem has a capacity of 4.5 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • Neusberg Hydro Electric Project A near Kakamas has a capacity of 10 MW and is under construction. Kakamas Hydro Electric Power (Pty) Ltd (KHEP), is a consortium comprised of HydroSA, Hydro Tasmania, Old Mutual and the Kakamas Community Trust.
  • Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme is   In the Northern Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu-Natal, close to the town of Bergville. It has an Installed capacity of 1 000 MW.
  • Palmiet Pumped Storage Scheme is near Grabouw in the Western Cape. The power station is 2 km upstream of the Kogelberg Dam wall on the Palmiet River and has am installed capacity of 400 MW .
  • Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme is situated 55km from Ladysmith, (20km northeast of Van Reenen) within the Drakensberg range, on the border between the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Upon completion it will be Eskom’s third pumped storage scheme with an output of 1 332 MW, mostly used during peak-demand periods. The station will be fully operational at the end of 2015.
  • The Steenbras Pumped Storage Scheme was opened in 1979 to supplement Cape Town’s electricity supply during periods of peak demand. It has a capacity of 180 MW.
  • Sol Plaatje Dam  Mini Hydroelectric Station on the Ash River in the Free State was commissioned in 2009 and has a capacity of 3 MW. Annual output from Sol Plaatje is expected to be 19 Gwh/yr. The operator is Bethlehem Hydro (Pty) Ltd. Project development of this facility and a sister plant at Merino started in 2001 . The projects cost about R100 million
South Africa and Renewable Energy



Source: http://www.fin24.com

The state-run renewable energy programme has won international awards for its efficiency and impact. In 2014 South Africa featured 4th in the list of countries that looked at its expenditure on renewable energy relative to its GDP. Before the implementation of the state’s renewable programme, wind generation projects were about to be approved at a cost of 125 cents per kWh. With the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers programme companies and consortia were in 2009 invited to competitively bid around clearly constructed criteria. Round one bids were accepted at 115c/kWh, round two came in at 100c/kWh, round three at 74c/kWh, and by the time round four was reached in August 2014, the bid price had dropped to 62c/kWh. The same process caused solar power to be bid down from 275c/kWh in round one to 79c/kWh in round four. This should be compared to the expected cost of 128c/kWh of new coal power from Medupi. Coal-generated cost increases to 168c/kWh if the cost of infrastructure like dams is included. The projects take about 12 to 18 months to get up and running from the time of approval, as compared to 10 years at Medupi The final costs of nuclear power are forecast to be more expensive than coal. These renewable energy projects are very profitable to the bidders, so there are increasing numbers of groups bidding for the projects available. At the last round, only 20% of bidding projects were selected.
On April 16, 2015, the department of energy approved 13 more new renewable IPP bids, which means there will now be 79 IPP projects with 5 243 MW being added to a national grid desperately in need of power.
By July 2015  5 200 MW had been approved at a capital cost of R168bn. The project winners had to supply all their own capital. About 40% of the spend is now local content and thousands of jobs have been created.By September 2015 a total of 92 projects, with a combined capacity of nearly 6 300 MW and an investment value of R192-billion, had been contracted. The Department of Energy told the Portfolio Committee on Energy in September 2015 that 37 renewables projects had been connected to the grid as of June 2015.



Solar power

Solar power in South Africa includes photovoltaics (PV) as well as concentrated solar power (CSP). Installed capacity is expected to reach 8,400 MW by 2030. Under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) program, Eskom agrees to purchase electricity from the developers. 

  • Adams Solar PV 2 near Hotazel with a capacity of 82.5 MW is awaiting construction. Shareholder: Enel Green Power South Africa BV is the the primary investment vehicle of the Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN), a community of approximately 150 000 Tswana-speaking people in South Africa's North West Province.
  • Aries Solar near Kenhardt with a capacity of 9.7 MW is fully operational Shareholders: BTSA (parent company of BioTherm Energy and wholly owner by Denham Commodity Partners Fund V. LP ("DCPFV"), Aries Solar Facility Community Trust, Ikamva Labantu Empowerment Trust ("Ikamva"), Malibongwe Women Development Trust ("Malibongwe"), Winners Circle (BEE investors group)., Aurora Power Solutions
  • Aurora near Aurora has a capacity of 10,36 MW and is under constructiom Shareholders: SolaireDirect's local BBBEE partner is investment holding and management company J & J shareholding which is broad-based extending to 200 000 individuals.
  • Boshof Solar Park near Boshof has a capacity of 60 MW and is fully operational. Shareholders: SunEdison – 51%, Nehawu Investment Holdings (NIH) – 20%, Public Investment Corporation – 19%, Community Trust – 10%.
  • De Aar Solar Power near De Aar has a capacity of 50 MW and is fully operational. Developer: South Africa Mainstream Renewable Power De Aar PV (Pty) Ltd
  • Dreunberg near Dreunberg has a capacity of 75 MW and is fully operational. Shareholders: Scatec Solar AS (Norway), Norfund (Norway), KLP (Norway), Standard Bank South Africa Ltd, Simacel (S.A.)
  • Droogfontein Solar Power near Kimberley has a capacity of 50 MW and is fully operational. Shareholders: Globeleq, Mainstream Renewable Power, Thebe Investment Corporation, Enzani Technologies, Usizo Engineering, Community
  • Droogfontein 2 Solar near Kiberley has a capacity of 75 MW and is awaiting construction. The developer is SunEdison
  • Dyason’s Klip 1 near Upington has a capacity of 75 MW and is awaiting construction. The developer is Scatec.
  • Eskom CSP {Comcentrated Solar Power)  near Upington has a capacity of 100 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • Jasper Power Company near Postmasburg has a capacity of 96 MW and is fully operational. Developed by SolarReserve, the project also marked Google’s first renewable energy investment in Africa after the company provided US$12 million in funding.
  • Kalkbult is near De Aar has a capacity of 72.7 MW and is fully operational. The project ownwers are: Scatec Solar AS (Norway), Norfund (Norway), Simacel Kalkbult Holding (RSA), Standard Bank (RSA), Old Mutual (RSA)
  • KaXu Solar One  near Pofadder has a capacity of 100 MW and is fully operational. KaXu Solar One is the first solar thermal electricity (STE) plant in South Africa. It is also the biggest of its kind in Africa and the southern hemisphere. It is owned by Abengoa (59%), the IDC (29%) and the KaXu Community Trust (21%).

  • Linde near Hanover has a capacity of 36.8 MW and is fully operational. The owners are: Scatec Solar AS (Norway), Norfund (Norway), KLP (Norway), Old Mutual Life Assurance Company SA Ltd (RSA), Standard Bank South Africa Ltd (RSA)
  • Mulilo Prieska PV near Prieska has a capacity of 75 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • Pulida Solar Park near Kimberley has a capacity of 75 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • RustMo 1 Solar Farm near Rustenburg has a capacity of 6.8 MW and is fully operational. The farm will produce 244 643 MWh of energy over the 20-year contract period..
  • Soutpan Solar Park near Mokopane has a capacity of 28 MW and is fully operational. Special-purpose vehicle Erika Energy, whose primary stakeholders include SunEdison, Chint Solar of China, which produces the photovoltaic (PV) panels, South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund, and the Kurisani Youth Development Trust.

  • Stortemelk Hydro (Pty) Ltd near Clarens has a capacity of 4.3 MW  and is fully operational.
  • Vredendal near Vredendal has a capacity of 8.8 MW and is fully operational.
  • Zeerust near Zeerust has a capacity of 75 MW and is awaiting construction
Gold miner Sibanye Gold planned to build a R3-billion, 150 MW solar power plant to ease its reliance on the costly and unreliable electricity supply from South Africa’s State-owned power utility Eskom, which posed a threat to the company’s current operations and future development.

Photovoltaic Technology Intellectual Property (PTIP), a Stellenbosch-based company, launched a plant for the production of solar panels. The company’s panels will use thin-film technology for its commercial panels, rather than the more common silicon panels made by other manufacturers. The plant, the first on the continent, is a joint venture with Singulus Technologies, a German manufacturer that has supplied some of the engineering solutions being used.

The South African Solar Challenge is an alternative fuel vehicle auto racing challenge in South Africa, with classes for hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, solar vehicles, and biofuel-powered vehicles. The first challenge was run in 2008, and it will run every two years thereafter. The race distance is over 4,100 km (2,500 mi). The challenge route may change from year to year, but it is planned to run fro Johannesburg to Cape Town to Durban and finish in Pretoria.




Wind power electricity
By July 2015 wind power contributed around 740 MW of electricity into the national grid. n terms of energy delivered, South Africa produces about 2.5% of what Denmark produces as a proportion of their ultimate electricity usage.
  • Amakhala Emoyeni (Phase 1) near Bedford has a capacity of 134.4 MW and is under construction. Contractor is Nordex and the shareholders are 95% Cennergi (Pty) Ltd, 5% Community Trusts. Cennergi (Pty) Ltd is a joint venture between Exxaro and India's Tata Power Company.
  • Chaba near Komga has a capacity of 20.6 MW and is under construction. The developer is InnoWind and the shareholders are EDF Energies Nouvelles, Industrial Development Corporation, Chaba Winds of Change (community)
  • Cookhouse Wind Farm near Cookhouse has a capacity of 135 MW and is fully operational. Contractor was Suzlon SA and the developer African Clean Energy Developments.
  • Copperton Windfarm near Copperton has a capacity of 102 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • Darling Wind Farm near Yzerfontein has a capacity of 5.2 MW and is fully operational.
  •  Dorper Wind Farm near Molteno/Sterkstoom has a capacity of 97 MW and is fully operational. The developer was Dorper Wind Farm (Pty) Ltd. Shareholders include include Sumitomo Corporation, Dorper Wind Development (Rainmaker Energy's Dorper Wind Farm investment company), and Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment partners, including Power Matla Renewables and a community trust.
Photo:  Hendrik van den Berg

  • Garob Wind Farm near Copperton has a capacity of 140 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • Golden Valley near Cookhouse has a capacity of 120 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • Grassridge near Port Elizabeth has a capacity of 59.8 MW and is fully operational. The sharehoders are InnoWind / Industrial Development Corporation / Grassridge Winds of Change BBBEE Co
  • Hopefield Wind Farm near Hopefield has a capacity of 65.4 MW and is fully operational. The developer is Umoya Energy (Pty) Ltd
  • Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm near Jeffreys Bay has a capacity of 138 MW and is fully operational. It generates 460 000 MWh per year. The majority shareholder is Globeleq. Siemens was responsible for installing and commissioning the turbines and for providing maintenance under a 10-year contract.
  • Kangnas Wind Farm near Springbok has a capacity of 137 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • Karusa Wind Farm near Sutherland has a capacity of 140 MW and is awaiting comstructiom.
  • Karusa Wind Farm near Loeriesfontein has a capacity of 138 MW and is awaiting construction.

  • Noblesfontein near Victoria West has a capacity of 72.8 MW and is fully operational. It consists of 41 turbines (Vestas V100 - 1, 8 MW) with an expected generation of 221,400 MWh / year. The shareholders are Gestamp Wind -60%, Sarge - 15%, and Shanduka - 25%
  • Nojoli Wind Farm near Cookhouse has a capacity of 87 MW and is awaiting construction
  • Nxuba Wind Farm near Cookhouse has a capacity of 410 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • Red Cap Kouga Wind Farm - Oyster Bay near St Francis Bay has a capacity of 80 MW and is fully operational. The investors in this wind farm development include: Standard Bank, Inspired Evolution Investment Management, The Kouga Wind Farm Community Development Trust, Red Cap Investments, Eurocape Renewables and AfriCoast Engineers. This wind farm consists of 32 turbines each capable of generating up to 2.5 MW of power, combining to a total capacity of 80 MW.
  • Roggeveld near Sutherland has a capacity of 149 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • Eskom Sere Wind Farm near Vredendal in the Western Cape achieved its full commercial operational capacity of a 100 MW on 31 March 2015.. ESKOM's project was being funded by a number of Developing Finance Institutions (DFIs) and forms part of a broader country program whereby funds were accessed through the Clean Technology Fund and supported by the South African Government. The DFIs that are collaborating with Eskom on this project are Agence Française de Développement, African Development Bank and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) The Sere Wind Farm project was constructed in partnership with the international energy technology conglomerate, Siemens Wind Power A/S. It will consist of forty six type SWT-2.3-108 wind turbines, each with a capacity to produce 2.3 megawatts of clean electricity. According to the turnkey contract awarded to Siemens, the company will supply, construct, commission, operate and service the wind farm for a five-year period following completion of its commissioning. The same time it took Eskom to build this 100 MW wind farm, the private sector produced 1500 MW through wind and solar. Fifty different companies working simultaneously on 50 different projects.
  • The Soetwater Wind Farm near Laingsburg has a capacity of 139 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • Tsitsikamma Community Wind Farm near Tsitsikamma has a capacity of 94.8 MW and is under construction.
  • Waainek near Grahamstown has a capacity of 32.4 MW and is under construction
  • Wesley-Ciskei Wind Farm near Peddie has a capacity of 33 MW and is awaiting construction.
  • West Coast 1 near Vredenburg has a capacity of 90.8 MW and is partially operational. Windlab began developing it in 2008. It was subsequently sold to Investec Bank along with a portfolio of 14 projects in South Africa, later to be taken up by Moyeng Energy (GDF SUEZ Energy Asia Turkey and Southern Africa B.V., Investec Bank Limited, Tiso Resources (Pty) Ltd), with Windlab remaining responsible for part of the development process, primarily focussed on the wind monitoring strategy, implementation and resource modelling.



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