Pofadder solar power project warms hearts, homes

A 100MW solar plant was opened yesterday in the arid Northern Cape, where the relentless sun is proving to be a valuable renewable natural resource for a deprived community.

KaXu Solar One, outside Pofadder, is the first solar thermal electric (STE) plant in South Africa. It is also the biggest of its kind in Africa and in the southern hemisphere.

Opening the plant, Economic Develop- ment Minister Ebrahim Patel said: “Tonight, when ordinary South Africans put on their lights, turn on their stoves to cook food, or watch television, some of that electricity would have been generated today near Pofadder.”

KaXu, which means “open skies” in the local Nama language, will add 100MW of electricity from the sun to the national grid, which is equal to about 320 gigawatt hours of electricity a year.

“This is equal to the consumption of 80 000 houses, so serving more than 400 000 South Africans. In practical terms, this is the consumption of all the households in Mossel Bay, Oudshoorn, Knysna and Swellendam combined,” Patel said.

The plant covers 3km² and is made up of 336 000 mirrors which track the movement of the sun. STE technology allows electricity to be stored for 2½ hours, which means power will be supplied to the national grid when it is needed most – at peak time after dark.

And it saved 315 000 tons of carbon emissions per year, chief executive of Abengoa Solar, Armando Zuluaga, said.

KaXu is owned by Abengoa (59%), the IDC (29%) and the KaXu Community Trust (21%).

KaXu is the first in a string of alternate energy sources that will feed into the grid.

The total investment of KaXu is R7.9-billion and provides 80 permanent jobs. Through the trust, the dividends would be invested in long-term projects that would benefit the community for generations to come, KaXu Community Trust chairman Fadiel Farao said.