Eskom limits solar park’s potential
● The 100MW of electricity produced daily by the Kathu solar park in the Northern Cape is tiny compared with its potential to supply whatever SA’s electricity grid needs.
But, says Kathu CEO Cedric Faye, the plant had to be built to comply with Eskom’s ageing grid structure, which can handle only an additional 100MW a day, enough to provide stable power to 179,000 homes.
The solar plant, the latest addition to SA’s energy plants, began operating in February and is one of the country’s largest renewable energy projects.
Faye said that once the ageing infrastructure was fixed, Kathu would be able to build plants that supplied more energy. When running efficiently, Eskom’s output is 40,000MW a day.
The solar park, spanning 450ha, can produce electricity at night or on overcast days. It has two molten-salt batteries that can store enough heat to add 4.5 hours of electricity to the grid when needed. The electricity is harvested through the 384,000 mirrors or solar panels.
Its 7m-aperture mirrors are the biggest in the world and add to the country’s potential 10% clean energy when combined with wind, photovoltaics (converting solar power) and solar power plants, Faye said.
“The potential to convert completely to green energies [a combination of solar, wind and photovoltaics] in SA is inevitable.”
He said SA had enough sun and wind, especially in the western regions, to power the entire country.
Eskom would not comment on the output capacity of Kathu. It said the department of energy was responsible for the country’s energy policy through the Integrated Resource Plan. It allocates the composition of the energy mix in terms of solar, nuclear, wind, hydro and coal.
Department spokesperson Thandiwe Maimane said Eskom and Kathu were the only organisations that could speak on behalf of the solar park.
According to the country’s energy plan, which was updated last year, SA’s coal plants will begin to be decommissioned from 2030 and coal will contribute less than 20% to the nation’s power by 2050.
Faye said Kathu was also labour-intensive, employing 80 people permanently.
The plant cost R12bn to build and took three years to construct. The construction created 1,700 local jobs at its peak construction date in June 2018.