Abengoa, a Spain-based solar energy company, has been awarded two concentrated solar project (CSP) projects worth about US1.3bn by South Africa’s Department of Energy.
The CSP projects are: Khi Solar One with 50 MW capacity, and KaXu Solar One with a capacity of 100 MW. The company has 51% stake in the project, while the remaining 49% has been held by Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), a South Africa state-owned company.
The Khi Solar One will sprawl on a 600-hectare site close to Upington in the Northern Cape Province. It will exploit Abengoa developed latest generation of solar tower technology using superheated steam. It will also use technologically advanced dry cooling that significantly reduces consumption of water by almost 80%. The thermal storage of this plant will be two hours.
KaXu Solar One will also be developed in Northern Cape province and will sprawl over 1,100 hectares site near the town of Pofadder. The plant will have a storage capacity of three hours. This plant will also uses the technologically advanced dry cooling system.