The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) was convinced that a solar energy revolution was about to take place in the world and that South Africa would be one of the leaders, CCI chairperson Ira Magaziner said on Friday.

The CCI was partnering with the South African government to assess the possibility of building its first solar park, which could add up to 5 000 MW of electricity to South Africa’s energy mix.

Magaziner and South African Energy Minister Dipuo Peters on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding to assess the potential of building this infrastructure.

South Africa has long been known for the gold it held under ground, but the country also had gold in the sky, which could have as much economic value as its underground gold reserves, Magaziner commented, adding that the sun that shone in South Africa’s Northern Cape, and even in the rest of the country, was among the best in the world for producing solar energy.

A solar park would serve as a concentrated zone of solar development and would include significant solar generation capacity by different independent power producers, Peters explained.

“What makes the solar park concept particularly attractive is the envisaged economies of scale and the integration of processes,” she commented.

The Minister explained that instead of having many generation licences, environmental-impact assessments, interconnectors, and generation plants, among other things, only one or a few would be required, which would save time, money and labour.

This would reduce the unit costs of renewable energy and make it more competitive with conventional fuel generation, she added.

By building large-scale solar projects, instead of one small solar plant, the costs could be reduced by between 30% and 40%, said Magaziner.

The CCI would undertake a feasibility study, which was expected to be concluded by the end of December, to identify one or more sites for a proposed solar park.

It would look at solar radiation indices, land availability, transmission access and cost, water, job creation, local content, the assessment of possible enabling frameworks for a solar park and an assessment of possible low-cost financing options for such a park, said the Minister.

The study would serve as a business plan for potential investors, said Magaziner, noting that once the study was concluded and the go-ahead given by the South African government, negotiations with potential investors would start.

He added that the CCI had already approached a number of South African investors, as well as foreign investors, and believed that there would be great interest from companies to invest in the proposed solar park.

Construction of the park could start as early as December 2010.

It would take between 18 months and two-and-a-half years to build one solar plant, of which several would be built in the park, Magaziner added.

The proposed park would also lead to “tremendous” job creation opportunities, not only during the construction, but also if solar energy component manufacturers set up manufacturing plants in South Africa. Further job opportunities could also be created through the operation of these solar energy plants, stated Magaziner.

The CCI was working on similar projects in India, Australia and in the South Western States of the US, where feasibility studies were nearing completion.

Out of the total stationary energy produced globally, only about 10 GW was solar energy, said Magaziner, noting that there plenty of potential to expand this.