A South African solar power plant has set a new African record for the continuous, round the clock supply of electricity.
The newly inaugurated 50 MW Bokpoort Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant built and operated by ACWA Power has produced electricity for a continuous period of 161 hours, equivalent to almost six days.
Located in Groblershoop, within the Kheis Municipality in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, the project’s optimised performance was boosted by its 1,300 MWh molten salt energy storage facility which provides 9.3 hours of thermal storage, the highest on the African continent.
Chief executive Paddy Padmanathan commented: “Round the clock electricity supply from a solar power plant is not only a significant milestone for ACWA Power, but for South Africa and the renewables industry.
“Our goal is to provide power as safely, reliably and efficiently as possible at the lowest possible cost. By applying innovative technology and capturing the natural energy from the sun, this is a breakthrough in the commercial, utility scale use of solar power.”
Nandu Bhula, chief executive of Bokpoort CSP plant, added: “Globally the biggest challenge of CSP has been its ability to produce energy consistently long after sunset.
“The performance of this plant is a clear indication that CSP technology can be used as a base-load capacity option in the same way as conventional power plants.”
In South Africa the country’s daily evening peak demand is from 5pm to 9pm and the newly introduced CSP Peak tariff means that developers are encouraged to have thermal storage capacity.
Bokpoort CSP has shown its 9.3 hours of thermal storage can easily be extended to allow 24/7 continuous operations due to plant design and the solar radiation available at the site.
Saudi-based ACWA Power’s next project is the 100 MW Redstone CSP plant which is expected to begin construction this year. According to Bhula this plant will offer 12 hours of storage capacity using in thermal storage technology.
He said: “The success of the Bokpoort operation and the application of new technology prove that commercial scale CSP plants with adequate storage are a valuable and efficient contributor to the future energy needs of South Africa under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme.”
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