Welcome to Kathu Solar Park

Kathu Solar Park, through its leading Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology, commenced operations on 30 January 2019, to deliver renewable energy to South Africa’s national grid.

This state-of-the-art CSP project with parabolic trough technology and equipped with a molten salt storage system, allows 4.5 hours of thermal energy storage, thereby limiting the intermittent nature of solar energy. Located in the Northern Cape Province, it is one of a few projects of its type in the country, and forms part of the government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) Programme, delivering jobs, socio-economic benefits and clean power.

100 MW CSP project

The benefits of this CSP project over its 20-year operations period are numerous including employment, local economic development, as well as playing a role in supporting South Africa’s decarbonisation efforts through the provision of carbon-free renewable power.

Benefits included, amongst others:

• direct job creation
• six million tons of CO2 avoided
• socio-economic development to the local beneficiary communities of Kathu, Kuruman and surrounding villages
• Kathu Local Community Trust benefits to John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality communities
• local entrepreneurs boosted through the social infrastructure programme, and services within its supply chain. Find out more.

Electricity supply to 179,000 homes

Located in the town of Kathu, in the Northern Cape Province, the project supplies enough power to support 179 000 SA homes, with stable electricity during their peak demand period.