The French group Engie has just announced the commercial start-up of Kathu’s Concentrated Solar Power Plant (CSP). On approximately 4.5 km2 of site, 384,000 mirrors are equipped with parabolic trough technology that will provide an energy of 100 MW. In addition, a molten salt storage system allows 4.5 hours of thermal energy storage to provide electricity in the absence of solar radiation and during peak demand. The plant will provide environmentally friendly energy to approximately 179,000 South African households.
“The completion of Kathu shows our continued commitment to an economic and environmentally friendly development in South Africa. Kathu with its molten salt storage design offers a clean solution to overcome the intermittency of renewable energies. We are proud to contribute to the country’s renewable energy goals, and look forward to continuing the projects initiated with local communities making Kathu a genuine driver of regional economic development,” said Isabelle Kocher, CEO of Engie.
