Karoshoek Solar Power Station

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Karoshoek Solar One Power Station
Karoshoek Solar Power Station
Country South Africa
Location Upington, Dawid Kruiper Municipality, ZF Mgcawu District, Northern Cape Province
Coordinates 28°28′50″S21°32′45″E / 28.48056°S 21.54583°E / -28.48056; 21.54583 Coordinates: 28°28′50″S21°32′45″E / 28.48056°S 21.54583°E / -28.48056; 21.54583
StatusOperational
Construction began2015
Commission date November 2018
Construction costUS$180 million
Owner(s)Karoshoek Solar One Pty Limited
Operator(s)Karoshoek Solar One
Solar farm
Type Flat-panel PV
Site area400 hectares (1.5 sq mi)
Power generation
Units operational360,000
Nameplate capacity 100 MW (130,000 hp)
Annual net output 380 GWh
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The Karoshoek Solar One Power Station, also Karoshoek Concentrated Solar Power Station, is a 100 megawatts concentrated solar power plant in South Africa. The solar component of this power station comprises curved mirrors that heat a fluid to a high temperature. The hot fluid is used to heat water, creating steam. The steam then "drives a steam turbine to convert the energy into electricity". That part of the power station is complemented by molten salt thermal storage technology, which "allows five hours of energy storage, enabling the plant to continue producing electricity in the absence of sunlight", supplying energy during South African peak hours. The consortium that owns the solar farm comprises foreign and domestic independent power producers (IPPs) and local and international financiers and other investors. A 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA), between the owners and Eskom, the South African electric utility company, governs the sale of the generated energy to Eskom, the off-taker. The power station achieved commercial commissioning in November 2018. [1] [2]

Contents

Location

The power station is located about 30 kilometres (19 mi), east of Upington, a small town in Dawid Kruiper Municipality, ZF Mgcawu District, in the Northern Cape Province. [1] [3] Upington is located approximately 409 kilometres (254 mi) by road, west of the city of Kimberley, the capital of Northern Cape Province. [4] The geographical coordinates of Karoshoek Solar One Power Station are: 28°28'50.0"S, 21°32'45.0"E (Latitude:-28.480556; Longitude:21.545833). [5]

Overview

Using 360,000 parabolic mirrors, arranged precisely to track the sun's movement using GPS technology, the station concentrates sunlight to produce heat. That heat is then used to heat water to produce steam. It is the steam that drives the electricity generators to generate electricity. Some of the heat is simultaneously used to melt salts to store energy. When the sun sets, the solar component is extinguished. The molten salts are then processed through a heat exchanger to release heat and generate electricity, after sunset. The molten salts store heat that allows the power station to generate power up to five hours after the sun sets. Karoshoek Concentrated Solar Power Station was developed between 2015 and 2018 as part of te South African Government's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). [2] [6]

Developers

The owners of the power station established a special purpose vehicle company (SPV). For descriptive purposes, we will call the SPV Karoshoek Solar One Consortium Limited. The SPV was tasked to own, design, finance, develop, operate and maintain this power station for the duration of the PPA. The ownership in the SPV at the time of commissioning is as illustrated in the table below. [1]

Shareholding In Karoshoek Solar One Consortium Limited
RankShareholderDomicilePercentageNotes
1Industrial Development Corporation South Africa 20.0 [1]
2Cobra Group Spain 20.0 [1]
3 Public Investment Corporation South Africa20.0 [1]
4Emvelo HoldingsSouth Africa15.0 [1]
5Karoshoek Community TrustSouth Africa15.0 [1]
6Hosken Consolidated InvestmentSouth Africa10.0 [1]
Total100.0

Construction costs and commissioning

The power station cost US$180 million to construct. [3] The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was awarded to a joint venture company called Dankocom, comprising Cobra, Emvelo and Sener, an engineering and technology group based in Spain. [1] Ground breaking occurred sometime in 2015 and commercial commissioning took place on 30 November 2018. [3]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Marleny Arnoldi (3 December 2018). "100 MW Karoshoek Solar One CSP project commissioned in Northern Cape". Engineeringnews.co.za. Johannesburg, South Africa. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 Helioscsp (16 December 2018). "South Africa celebrates 100MW Concentrated Solar Power Ilanga 1 grid-connected plant". Helioscsp.com. Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Luchelle Feukeng (6 December 2018). "South Africa: Karoshoek solar power plant already operational". Afrik21.africa. Paris, France. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  4. ↑ Google (12 May 2022). "Road Distance Between Kimberley, South Africa And Upington, South Africa" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  5. ↑ Google (12 May 2022). "Location of Karoshoek Solar One Power Station" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  6. ↑ Robert Barnes (3 December 2018). "The 100MW Karoshoek Solar One project completed". Construction Review Online. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
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