Review of the Operational Phase of the South African Concentrated Solar Power Projects

This paper provides an overview of the six Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) projects in operation in South Africa, comprising 500 MW generation capacity. These projects, in addition to the seventh (100 MW) CSP project currently in construction, were awarded under various bid windows of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer’s Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and commenced operations during 2015-2019. Key operational data up to the end of 2023 are presented, as of when the combined cumulative electricity generation by the six CSP projects reached 10.1 TWh. This represents approximately 81% of the sum of the P50 Energy Yield Forecasts (EYFs) in the respective project Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), and 9.6% of all electricity generated by the REIPPPP projects by the end of 2023, while the CSP projects constitute 8.1% of total installed capacity (6180 MW) as of December 2023. Factors affecting performance are discussed, including meteorology and outages. Consumption of major utilities is also discussed, comparing to expected values or limits.