South Africa will resolve its electricity challenges, President Cyril Ramaphosa said during a visit to the Redstone solar plant in Postmasburg in the Northern Cape.
“Much as we are still dealing with the challenges of load shedding with Eskom, if we look through the tunnel, we see the light. We are going to resolve our energy challenges, he said.
Ramaphosa visited the plant on Thursday. The 100MW Redstone concentrated solar power (CSP) tower project forms part of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme. Saudi Arabia helped fund the project with more than R12-billion in capital investment.
The Redstone project has to date created 972 jobs, with 1 500 jobs expected at project peak. About 100 permanent jobs will be created during the operations and maintenance phase.
The project’s molten salt storage capability will deliver consistent baseload electricity, even after the sun sets.
Ramaphosa thanked ACWA Power for granting bursaries to youngsters to study in fields related to the investment. ACWA Power is a Saudi developer, investor and operator of power generation and water desalination plants in 13 countries.