Copperton was a mining town in the central Karoo region of South Africa. As a copper and zinc-mining area, Copperton saw its heyday between 1970 and the end of the 20th century, when it housed about 3,000 workers and their families; amenities included a school and recreation facilities, including a golf course. [1]
The copper-zinc mine at Copperton, which had been opened in 1972, was shut down in 1991 by the Anglovaal Mining Group. [2] The 2011 census found 57 inhabitants. [3] Today, most of the buildings have been demolished and only a few houses are used by Armscor, who operate a weapons testing center, Alkantpan Test Range, in the area. [1]
Several new renewable energy projects (solar and wind) have been allocated through the REIPPPP and these projects will be constructed in the vicinity of this town.
| Power plant | Province | Date commissioned (planned) | Installed Capacity MW (planned) | Type | Status | Coordinates | Operator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copperton Windfarm | Northern Cape, Copperton | (late 2017) | (102) | Wind | Contracting | 29°54′30″S22°20′45″E / 29.908267°S 22.345848°E | Gestamp Wind | [4] [5] [6] |
| Garob Wind Farm | Northern Cape, Copperton | (Oct 2018) | (136) | Wind | Contracting | 29°55′44″S22°24′06″E / 29.928871°S 22.401696°E | Enel Green Power | [7] |
| Mulilo Renewable Energy Solar PV Prieska | Northern Cape, Copperton | 1 October 2014 | 19.93 | Solar PV | Operational | 29°57′56.4″S22°18′53.2″E / 29.965667°S 22.314778°E | Mulilo Renewable Energy | [8] |
| Mulilo Sonnedix Prieska PV | Northern Cape, Copperton | (Dec 2015) | (75) | Solar PV | Under Construction | 30°1′27.86″S22°21′44.02″E / 30.0244056°S 22.3622278°E | Mulilo Renewable Energy | [9] |
| Mulilo Prieska PV | Northern Cape, Copperton | (Nov 2015) | (75) | Solar PV | Under Construction | 30°2′2.96″S22°19′10.93″E / 30.0341556°S 22.3197028°E | Mulilo Renewable Energy | Area: 205 hectares (2.05 km2) [10] |
Many countries and territories have installed significant solar power capacity into their electrical grids to supplement or provide an alternative to conventional energy sources. Solar power plants use one of two technologies:
Hybrid power are combinations between different technologies to produce power.
Solar power is a fast-growing industry in Australia. As of September 2023, Australia's over 3.60 million solar PV installations had a combined capacity of 32.9 GW photovoltaic (PV) solar power, of which at least 3,823 MW were installed in the preceding 12 months. In 2019, 59 solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 2,881 MW were either under construction, constructed or due to start construction having reached financial closure. Solar accounted for 12.4% of Australia's total electrical energy production in 2021.
The developing nations of Africa are popular locations for the application of renewable energy technology. Currently, many nations already have small-scale solar, wind, and geothermal devices in operation providing energy to urban and rural populations. These types of energy production are especially useful in remote locations because of the excessive cost of transporting electricity from large-scale power plants. The applications of renewable energy technology has the potential to alleviate many of the problems that face Africans every day, especially if done in a sustainable manner that prioritizes human rights.
China is the world's leader in electricity production from renewable energy sources, with over triple the generation of the second-ranking country, the United States. China's renewable energy sector is growing faster than its fossil fuels and nuclear power capacity, and is expected to contribute 43% of global renewable capacity growth. China's total renewable energy capacity exceeded 1,000 GW in 2021, accounting for 43.5 per cent of the country's total power generation capacity, 10.2 percentage points higher than in 2015. The country aims to have 80 per cent of its total energy mix come from non-fossil fuel sources by 2060, and achieve a combined 1,200 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030. In 2023, it was reported that China was on track to reach 1,371 gigawatts of wind and solar by 2025, five years ahead of target due to new renewables installations breaking records. China's carbon emissions are now expected to decrease in 2024, years ahead of the target of peak emissions by 2030.
Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to convert light into an electric current. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and solar tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight to a hot spot, often to drive a steam turbine.
South Africa has a large energy sector, being the third-largest economy in Africa. The country consumed 227 TWh of electricity in 2018. The vast majority of South Africa's electricity was produced from coal, with the fuel responsible for 88% of production in 2017. South Africa is the 7th largest coal producer in the world. As of July 2018, South Africa had a coal power generation capacity of 39 gigawatts (GW). South Africa is the world's 14th largest emitter of greenhouse gases. South Africa is planning to shift away from coal in the electricity sector and the country produces the most solar and wind energy by terawatt-hours in Africa. The country aims to decommission 34 GW of coal-fired power capacity by 2050. It also aims to build at least 20 GW of renewable power generation capacity by 2030. South Africa aims to generate 77,834 megawatts (MW) of electricity by 2030, with new capacity coming significantly from renewable sources to meet emission reduction targets. Through its goals stated in the Integrated Resource Plan, it announced the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, which aims to increase renewable power generation through private sector investment.
A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building-mounted and other decentralized solar power because they supply power at the utility level, rather than to a local user or users. Utility-scale solar is sometimes used to describe this type of project.
Solar power in South Africa includes photovoltaics (PV) as well as concentrated solar power (CSP). As of 2023, South Africa had over 2700 MW of installed PV solar power capacity in its grid, in addition to 500 MW of CSP. Installed capacity is expected to reach 8,400 MW by 2030.
Solar power in Michigan has been growing in recent years due to new technological improvements, falling solar prices and a variety of regulatory actions and financial incentives. The largest solar farm in Michigan is Assembly Solar, completed in 2022, which has 347 MW of capacity. Small-scale solar provided 50% of Michigan solar electricity as recently as 2020 but multiple solar farms in the 100 MW to 200 MW range are proposed to be completed by the middle of the decade. Although among the lowest U.S. states for solar irradiance, Michigan mostly lies farther south than Germany where solar power is heavily deployed. Michigan is expected to use 120 TWh per year in 2030. To reach a 100% solar electrical grid would require 2.4% of Michigan's land area to host 108 GW of installed capacity.
Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, hydro, biomass, and geothermal have become significant sectors of the energy market. The rapid growth of these sources in the 21st century has been prompted by increasing costs of fossil fuels as well as their environmental impact issues that significantly lowered their use.
The electricity sector in Australia has been historically dominated by coal-fired power stations, but renewables are forming a rapidly growing fraction of supply. In 2021, Australia's electricity production reached 265 TWh, with coal accounting for 52.9% and natural gas for 18.8%. Renewable sources, comprising solar, wind, hydro, and bioenergy with waste, collectively made up 26.7% of the total electricity generation mix.
Mulilo Renewable Energy is a South African company operating in the utility scale energy market in South Africa.
Renewable energy in South Africa is energy generated in South Africa from renewable resources, those that naturally replenish themselves—such as sunlight, wind, tides, waves, rain, biomass, and geothermal heat. Renewable energy focuses on four core areas: electricity generation, air and water heating/cooling, transportation, and rural energy services. The energy sector in South Africa is an important component of global energy regimes due to the country's innovation and advances in renewable energy. South Africa's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is ranked as moderate and its per capita emission rate is higher than the global average. Energy demand within the country is expected to rise steadily and double by 2025.
Touwsrivier CPV Solar Project is a 44 MWp (36 MWAC) concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) power station located 13 km outside the town of Touwsrivier in the Western Cape of South Africa. The installation reached full capacity in December 2014 and is the second largest operating CPV facility in the world. Electricity produced by the plant is fed into the national grid operated by Eskom under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
DLO Energy Resources Group (PTY) LTD is an independent power producer headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa with primary operations in renewable energy, solar power and wind power.
The Greefspan II Solar Power Station, also Greefspan 2 Solar Power Station, is a 63.2 MW (84,800 hp) solar power plant in South Africa. It is a grid-connected, privately owned and privately funded solar power station. The solar farm began commercial operations in September 2021. The power station, whose construction started in 2018, was completed in December 2020. The nine months between completion and commercial commissioning were spent performing "grid connection tests" and other calibrations.
The Prieska–Total Solar Power Station, also Mulilo Prieska Solar Power Station, is an 86 megawatts solar power plant in South Africa. The solar farm was developed and is owned by a consortium comprising five independent power producers (IPPs), development finance companies and private investment firms. The power station owners formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company called Mulilo Prieska PV (RF), to design, finance, construct, own, operate and maintain the power station and related infrastructure. The off-taker of the energy generated here is Eskom Holdings, the public electricity utility parastatal of South Africa. A 20-year power purchase agreement between Murillo Prieska PV and Eskom, governs the sale and purchase of electricity between the power station and the electric utility.
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