Promoting state-of-the-art solar technology and

SOUTH AFRICA
© Nertog/Flickr
Promoting state-of-the-art
solar technology and
diversifying the energy mix
South Africa is highly dependent on coal for its electricity supply
and is gradually turning towards less polluting energy sources.
The project for the Khi Solar concentrated thermal power plant
cofinanced by PROPARCO is a major step forward.
Energy
ZIMBABWE
BOTSWANA
NAMIBIA
Pretoria
Johannesburg
Durban
LESOTHO
BACKGROUND
THE PROJECT
Over the past decade, South Africa has
experienced strong growth in electricity demand (+20%), which exceeds its
generation capacity. This deficit causes
increasingly frequent power outages,
which affect communities and hamper
the national economy. The country also
continues to be highly dependent on coal,
which generates 93% of electricity, but
increases its carbon footprint. South Africa
has become one of the largest greenhouse
gas (GHG) emitters in the world.
PROPARCO has allocated a ZAR 264m
(EUR 23.6m) loan, alongside the European
Investment Bank (EIB), Development Bank
of Southern Africa (DBSA), Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and its Dutch
counterpart FMO, to support the financing
of the first large-scale project for a solar
tower in Sub-Saharan Africa, “Khi Solar
One”, in the Northern Cape Province.
The authorities have launched an extensive program to expand the domestic
generation capacity in order to avoid a
major energy crisis and upgrade obsolete
infrastructure. It is based on developing
renewable sources, which should account
for almost half of the new facilities by 2030.
South Africa benefits from tremendous,
clean and sustainable resources thanks to
its excellent sunshine conditions.
This 50 MW power plant has a 200 meters
tall solar tower and is based on concentrated thermal technology. It includes a
storage capacity, which allows operating
to continue when there is no sunlight.
“Khi” is a flagship operation that meets
peak electricity demand and contributes
to the development of the solar industry
in South Africa.
600 jobs created during the
construction phase.
1000 km
Key indicators
GDP per capita
USD 11,989
HDI
118/187
Population
52.8M
• Financial tool: loan
• Amount committed: ZAR 264m
(EUR 23.6m)
• Beneficiary: Abengoa Solar, S.A.
• Date granted: 2012
• Project status: ongoing
IMPACT
Reduction of GHG emissions
by 200,000 teqCO2 a year.
Cape Town
0 km
Contribution to the South African
authorities’ objective to introduce
17.89 GW of renewable energy by
2030.
Press contact
Magali Mévellec
+331 53 44 40 31
[email protected]
climat.afd.fr –­ January 2015