Siemens to Build 100MW of Solar in South Africa

Siemens has received an order for construction of two photovoltaic (PV) plants in South Africa from a consortium consisting of Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd., a global developer of renewable energy sources, its investment partner Globeleq, the South African investment company Thebe Investment Corporation and two local construction companies Enzani Technologies and Usizo Engineering.

The solar power plants will be erected in De Aar and Droogfontein in the Nordkap province and are scheduled to go online in 2014. The capacity of 50 megawatts (MWp) for each plant is sufficient to provide overall more than 30,000 households in South Africa with clean electric power.

The South African government plans the construction of additional projects with a total capacity of 20,000MWp of power generation from renewable energy sources by 2030, with the goal of improving the country’s power supply system and increasing the number of power providers and operators on the domestic power market. The country has outstanding conditions for the utilization of renewable energy and has set up a remarkable program with the Independent Power Producer Procurement Program. With a strong presence in South Africa, Siemens is contributing to this leading renewable energy program on the African continent.

The two Siemens photovoltaic plants will be erected as turnkey plants on an area of around one square kilometer. Siemens will use its “PVplanet” planning software, which optimizes the plant-layout along specific customer requirements (both technical and financial).. Siemens Energy developed this program together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM. The scope of supply for the plants includes the planning, construction and commissioning of the plants, along with a five-year operating and maintenance agreement.