SA's first PV plant

[Fudzy]

Electricity from the Kalkbult solar photovolataic (PV) power station flowed into the national grid on Tuesday, making it South Africa's first solar plant to come online - three months ahead of schedule.
The 75 megawatt (MW) plant near Petrusville in the sun-drenched Northern Cape will generate 135-million kilowatt hours a year, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 33 000 households.
The Kalkbult plant will avoid annual greenhouse gas emissions of 115 000 tons that would have been emitted by a fossil-fuelled plant, such as a coal-fired power station, in producing the equivalent power.
The plant is one of the 47 solar-, wind- and mini-hydro projects awarded 20-year contracts to generate electricity under the Department of Energy's renewable energy programme for independent power producers.

http://www.southafrica.info/business/investing/solar-141113.htm#.UoU1JJ8aySM#ixzz2kefOTUZV

 

[MKFrost]

This is seriously good news.

Firstly we have increased supply and secondly we are way better off without that 115,000 tons of greenhouse gasses. See there is a number more to come in 2014.

The Kalkbult plant covers 105 hectares of a working sheep farm and includes 312 000 solar panels mounted on 156 kilometres of substructure linked to inverters, transformers and a high voltage sub-station.

 

[Fudzy]

This seriously good news.

Firstly we have increased supply and secondly we are way better off without that 115,000 tons of greenhouse gasses. See there is a number more to come in 2014.

It's quite a serious array, I hope the business case pays off for future investors. If more munics signed on to projects like these they could be less reliant on the national supplier and settle their debt with them too.

 

[Broo]

Photovolataic?

 

[Fudzy]

Photovolataic?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaics

 

[MKFrost]

Photovolataic?

Should have been..

The photovoltaic effect is the creation of voltage or electric current in a material upon exposure to light.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaic_effect

A mouthful....

 

[medicnick83]

Still, very cool!

 

[HavocXphere]

Cool - less pollution = better SA for all. Would have been cooler if it were molten salt thermal so that it could cover peak hours...but any solar is good solar.

>three months ahead of schedule.

How about we get the Norwegians to build Medupi instead of the ANC tenderpreneurs?