A 96MW photovoltaic (PV) solar plant backed in part by US Internet giant Google has gone live in the Northern Cape, two months ahead of schedule, its backers said on Tuesday.
The project is the largest solar installation in Africa, they said.
SolarReserve, which develops utility-scale solar power projects and advanced solar thermal technology, said that the Jasper solar power project is now fully operational.
Jasper is located in a solar park that also includes the 75MW Lesedi solar power project, which came online in May. It is also the site of a proposed 100MW concentrated solar thermal power plant.
The Jasper project will deliver 180 000MWh of renewable electricity annually, enough to power up to 80 000 households through a 20-year power purchase agreement with Eskom, SolarReserve said.
The project was developed by a consortium consisting of SolarReserve, the Kensani Group and Intikon Energy (a South African developer of renewable energy projects).
Equity investment and ownership for the project was provided by a group of international and South African shareholders who have experience in the development, funding and operations of solar energy projects. The equity investment shareholders include the Public Investment Corp, Intikon Energy, Kensani Capital Investments, Google, the Peace Humansrus Community Trust and SolarReserve, with Rand Merchant Bank providing preference share equity.
SolarReserve has developed projects internationally, including three PV projects totalling 246MW of generation capacity in operation in South Africa. The Lesedi and Letsatsi Projects, totalling 150MW of installed capacity, came online in May 2014 and are capable of powering more than 130 000 South African homes with clean energy.