JinkoSolar Selected to Power First Ever Off-Grid Utility Scale PV System in South Africa

September 6th, 2012 by James Ayre

JinkoSolar, a leading global manufacturer of solar energy products, is working with Solea Renewables to develop the first ever off-grid utility scale photovoltaic system in South Africa for a Limpopo province chrome mine.

“The 1 megawatt plant will produce approximately 1.8 GWh of electricity per year and will effectively reduce the mine’s daytime diesel dependency for the next 20 to 30 years.”

This project is following in line with South Africa’s stated plans to increase its purchases of power supplied by independent producers, and its objective to increase the percentage of the country’s total power mix that is provided by renewable energy.

“While the global demand for South African coal, platinum, palladium and chromium increases, mines and other industrial consumers face power supply constraints due to capacity challenges at Eskom. The turnkey delivery of our PV plants will not only benefit end-users, but it will in turn help reduce the ever present and increasing energy demand Eskom faces,” said Vusi Mhlanzi, Director of Solea Renewables.

Source: PR Newswire
Image Credit: BootKidz UK

Keep up to date with all the hottest cleantech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletter, electric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter.

Tags: JinkoSolar, jinkosolar south africa, Limpopo chrome mine solar energy, mine power solar, south africa solar energy, south African mine solar

About the Author

James Ayre 's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.