100MW parabolic trough concentrated solar power plant Ilanga CSP 1, together with Xina Solar One is among the Round 3 CSP projects under South African Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). 

As Siyabonga Mbanjwa, Managing Director-South Africa in SENER shares on social media, significant progress is being made on Ilanga CSP 1, hopefully the project is expected to be completed by the end of this year. 

Once completion, Ilanga CSP 1 will be the No.5 CSP plant in South Africa after those like 100MW parabolic trough Kaxu Solar One, 50Mpower tower Khi Solar One, 50MW parabolic trough Bokpoort, 100MW parabolic trough Xina Solar One.

Relevant CSP Conference：CSP Focus MENA 2018（June 27-28,Marrakeck Morocco）

Developed by Emvelo from South Africa and ACS Cobra from Spain, Ilanga CSP 1 is equipped with  4.5 hours’ thermal electricity storage system, and consists of a field with rows of parabolic troughs around six-meters high and several meters long.

Despite their large size, these high precision optical devices are aligned with millimetre precision. Many parallel rows of these collectors span across a solar field, covering an area of about 400ha –360 000 curved mirrors, which line the solar collecting troughs, were shipped to Cape Town from Europe and then transported to Upington using 397 trucks.

The solar collectors are currently assembled on-site by trained local residents. On completion the farm will comprise close to 15 000 collectors.

The CSP plant will provide electricity to about 80 000 households and displace about 370 000t of CO2 equivalent emissions during every year of operation. The entire project fits into national and regional green economy ambitions.

Relevant CSP Conference：CSP Focus MENA 2018（June 27-28,Marrakeck Morocco）