The 96 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic (PV) Jasper solar power project came online recently, providing enough electricity to power up to 80,000 households.<\/p>\n
The Jasper project is located in a Northern Cape solar park which includes the 75MW Lesedi solar power project which came online in May 2014.<\/p>\n
With over 325,000 PV modules, the Jasper Project will deliver 180,000 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity annually for South African residents.<\/p>\n
The project also marked Google’s first renewable energy investment in Africa after the company provided US$12 million in funding.<\/p>\n
The Jasper solar power project, developed by SolarReserve, was constructed within a year \u2013 two months ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n
The project reached financial close in October 2013 and full construction began on site in December 2013. Full commercial operations were achieved a year later in October 2014. It cost\u00a0approximately R2.9 billion ($260 million) and has created in excess of 800 direct construction jobs.<\/p>\n
During the 20+ year operating life (the Jasper project has\u00a0a 20-year power purchase agreement with Eskom) the project will spend in excess of R2 billion on operations and maintenance costs.<\/p>\n
For the life of the project 1.6% of revenues will be re-invested in enterprise development (ED) and socio-economic development (SED) of neighbouring communities.<\/p>\n
SolarReserve spokesperson Mary Grikas explained that the cost of photovoltaic solar power has come down dramatically in recent times.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is competitive with new build coal projects, especially when you consider the requirements for proper emissions control technology necessary to get coal projects permitted and financed,\u201d said Grikas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe competitiveness of solar energy is being proven in many markets around the world including in the US, Chile, Brazil, China, and South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Medupi, in comparison with the Jasper project which was completed early, is around 4 years behind schedule.<\/p>\n
According to Business Day the Medupi project costs also escalated to R105 billion \u2013 R35 billion higher than the 2007 estimates.<\/p>\n
The following infographic provides an overview of the two power projects.<\/p>\n
Africa\u2019s largest solar farm goes live in SA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n South Africa gets first solar powered ATMs<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n![\"Power-stations\"](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Power-stations.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThis article first appeared on MyBroadband<\/a><\/h3>\n
More on Jasper<\/h3>\n