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R5bn solar plant switched on in Northern Cape, will power 21 000 homes

A new solar plant worth R5 billion was inaugurated yesterday in the town of Groblershoop in the Northern Cape.

The 50 megawatt Bokpoort concentrated solar plant will provide electricity to the Eskom grid, supplying over 21 000 households with power and saving approximately 230 000 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions during every year of operation.

The project is being backed by Saudi Arabian firm ACWA Power, which has a regional office in Johannesburg and specialises in investing, developing and co-owning renewable energy plants in the regions where it operates.

It took over 1 200 people more than 30 months to complete the construction of the plant.

The plant forms part of government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPP), which seeks to generate 3 725 megawatts to ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity to citizens.

The programme has attracted R194 billion in investments over the past five years.

“Over R2.4 billion was spent on local content, with 40% of the Bokpoort plant being sourced and manufactured locally, including the manufacturing and assembly of solar field collector steel structures and the supply of piping and cables,” Department of Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said.

[Source – SA Government News Agency, image – CC by Intel Free Press]

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