On May 29, two solar generators in South Africa reached completion and came online to supply power to South Africa’s Eskom electricity grid. The two facilities, Lesedi and Letsatsi, were constructed by SolarReserve and produce 75 MW apiece. They are located in the Northern Cape and the Free State, respectively.
Readers of this blog may remember that these two facilities are part of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer’s Program (REIPPP), and were approved by South Africa’s Department of Energy in their first round of bids. The generators will be able to power 130,000 South African homes, and as part of the REIPPP mandate, a portion of the revenue from these facilities will go towards development work in local communities.
They represent the largest renewable energy projects in continental Africa and some of the biggest project finance transactions completed in South Africa. Both of the photovoltaic facilities have signed a 20 year power purchasing agreement with the South African electricity utility company Eskom, one of the largest in the world. Eskom currently generates 90% of its power from South Africa’s vast coal resources, but the nation is trying to reduce its carbon footprint through the REIPPP initiative mentioned above.
The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved a mandate for energy storage technology. The mandate, the first of its kind in the nation, requires the purchasing 1,325 MW of energy storage by 2020, with the projects to be completed by 2024. This storage capacity is enough to power 1 million homes.
The mandate also requires 200 MW of this storage capacity to be purchased by 2014. It affects California’s three investor-owned utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric.
The decision dovetails with California legislation dictating that one third of California’s energy is supplied through renewable sources by 2020. Variability of flow has long been a criticism of renewable energy, with solar and wind plants dependent on weather for energy generation. Energy storage is seen as a way to remedy this issue, by storing the energy when it’s not needed, and releasing it when output falls due to weather or other events. This will also cut the wasteful practice of curtailment- dumping energy produced in excess over current need.
The mandate stems from AB 2514, the “Energy Storage Systems” bill, signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger in 2010.