The Kathu Solar Park project in South Africa, owned by an ENGIE-led consortium with South African partners, has signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Eskom. The agreement with Eskom allows for construction on the project to begin shortly.
The concentrated solar park, situated in the Northern Cape Province, is expected to be operational in H2 2018.
Kathu Solar Park is a 100-MW greenfield Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project with parabolic trough technology and equipped with a molten salt storage system that allows 4.5 hours of thermal energy storage. The Kathu Solar Park is also Engie’s first CSP project.
The consortium, which is led by ENGIE (48.5%), includes a group of South African investors comprising SIOC Community Development Trust, the Investec bank, Lereko Metier and the Public Investment Corporation.