As part of the South African Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program (REIPPPP), a consortium led by SolarReserve and ACWA Power signed a 20-year PPA with Eskom for the Redstone Solar Thermal Power Project. The 100-MW power station with 12 hours of energy storage will be able to reliably deliver a stable supply of clean electricity to the equivalent of more than 200,000 South African homes each year.
The Redstone project will be located in the Northern Cape Province, adjacent to the 75 MW Lesedi and 96 MW Jasper photovoltaic (PV) solar power projects successfully developed and implemented by SolarReserve.
The first of its kind in Africa, the Redstone project will utilize SolarReserve’s proprietary ThermaVault technology – the world’s most advanced solar thermal technology with integrated molten salt energy storage, which solves the issues experienced with other renewable energy solutions and is dispatchable 24/7.
SolarReserve will supply the core technology for the project, including the molten salt receiver designed and manufactured by SolarReserve, which is the heart of the power station, along with the heliostat collector field controls and tracking system. This key technology will enable the Redstone power station to deliver 100 MW of nonintermittent clean energy to the South African grid, especially during peak periods. As identified under the PPA, Redstone will deliver continuous electricity to the national grid for up to 17 hours a day in order to meet peak energy demands.
As a result of SolarReserve’s technology’s ability to store 1,200 MW-hours of energy daily, the project’s electricity price is the lowest of any solar thermal project awarded in the country to date.