The overall goal of the Project was the financing and development of a 100-megawatt (MW) concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in the Northern Cape Province in South Africa. The CSP plant, which is the first to utilize parabolic trough technology in South Africa, has an output capacity of 320 gigawatt hours per year (GWh/year) – equivalent to serving approximately 80,000 South African homes (approximately 400,000 South Africans). 

Executive Summary:

The overall goal of the Project was the financing and development of a 100 megawatt (MW) concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in the Northern Cape Province in South Africa (KaXu Solar One CSP Project). The CSP plant, which is the first to utilize parabolic trough technology in South Africa, has an output capacity of 320 gigawatt hours per year (GWh/year) – equivalent to serving approximately 80,00 South African homes (approximately 400,000 South Africans). The Project is projected to result in the offset of 315,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year and be a key factor in helping reach South Africa’s renewable energy goals.
Construction of the Project started in November of 2012, and it is estimated that the Project generated approximately 4,500 construction jobs as well as 80 permanent jobs associated with facility operations, maintenance, etc., in the Northern Cape Province (an impoverished province in South Africa with a high youth unemployment rate). Additionally, the large solar project is a vital investment to increasing South Africa’s overall energy security.