A solar energy park near Citrusdal in the Western Cape has been completed.
The 82.5MW Paleisheuwel photovoltaic park has been built by the South African subsidiary of Italian renewables and energy efficiency company TerniEnergia.
Once the plant reaches optimal operation it will be able to generate a further 153GWh per year‚ enough to power 48‚000 households.
The company is also building the Tom Burke solar PV plant in Limpopo‚ with an installed capacity of 66MW and the ability to add 122GWh a year once fully up and running. This will meet the energy needs of 38‚000 homes.
The two parks are among the projects for which the Italian utility Enel Green Power secured power supply contracts in the third phase of the government's renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme in October 2013.
Employing 611‚000 panels‚ the Paleisheuwel installation has been connected to the Eskom grid. TerniEnergia has a renewable four-year contract for the operation and maintenance of the plant.
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