Name and Location
Kathu solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, Northern Cape, South Africa.

Client
The project is owned by construction company WBHO and Building Energy, an Italian renewable-energy developer and operator.

Project Description
The Kathu solar PV park has been described as one of the largest solar projects worldwide, incorporating single-axis tracking technology. The  project was among the 28 renewable-energy projects to sign power purchase and implementation agreements with Eskom and the Department of Energy on November 5.

The 75 MW plant will generate about 146 GWh of clean solar energy to feed into the national grid – enough to meet the needs of more than 40 000 people, based on average national per capita consumption and displacing the equivalent of about 50 000 t/y of carbon dioxide emissions.

Value
The project has an associated price tag of about R3-billion. Rand Merchant Bank is the mandated lead arranger for the debt finance portion of the project.

Duration
Commissioning will be undertaken in phases and the facility can possibly supply the grid ahead of the official completion date of mid-2014.

Latest Developments
ABB has won an order worth about $25-million to supply electrical and control systems for the Kathu plant. ABB will be responsible for the design, engineering, supply, installation and commissioning of the project.

The company’s turnkey electrical and automation solution will enhance the performance of the Kathu plant to increase output, while ensuring reliability in remote and demanding operating conditions. The solution includes a range of ABB power products, such as medium- and low-voltage switchgear, distribution transformers and control and protection devices. It also incorporates distributed automation and control products from the Symphon Plus range.

Key features of the ABB solution include the integration of the plant’s electrical equipment and high-voltage substation into the company’s proprietary Symphony Plus Distributed Control System (DCS) solution in compliance with the IEC 61850 open-communication standard for substation automation. ABB will also supply an advanced tracking system, with a back-tracking algorithm that optimises tracker movement and eradicates shadow on the panels. The solution also features a data-collection system that collects operational input from the trackers, inverters, string boxes and substation to enable remote operation and maintenance, thereby alleviating the need for on-site manning.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Savannah Environmental (environmental-impact assessment); WBHO (plant construction); JinkoSolar, of China (PV modules); Elettronica Santerno, of Italy (inverters); Energía Ercam, of Spain (tracking systems) and ABB (electrical and control systems).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Savannah Environmental, Karen Jodas, tel +27 11 234 6621, fax +27 86 684 0547 or email Karen@savannahsa.com.
WBHO, tel +27 11 321 7200, fax +27 11 887 4364 or email wbho@wbho.co.za.
JinkoSolar,tel +86 21 60611799 or fax +86 21 68761115.
Elettronica Santerno, tel +39 0542 489711 or fax +39 0542 489722.
Energía Ercam, tel +34 949 20 17 26 or fax +34 949 20 06 99.
ABB group relations, Thomas Schmidt, tel +41 43 317 6568 or email media.relations@ch.abb.com.