The sun, an unlimited source of energy for humanity, provides competitive energy with high potential.

This is why we have been investing for several years in solar energy, an inexhaustible energy with low CO2 emissions which has minimal impact on the environment and local communities. ENGIE wishes to contribute to a more harmonious world, where progress meets the expectations of individuals, populations and the planet, a future that respects both individual and collective needs. Solar energy responds perfectly to these challenges, and has its place in the energy mix as one of the pillars of a sustainable energy transition. 

In South Africa: 

Kathu Solar Park is a 100 MW state-of-the-art Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant, which is located in Kathu, Northern Cape Province. The solar power plant with parabolic trough technology and equipped with a molten salt storage system that allows for 4.5 hours of thermal energy storage to provide reliable electricity in the absence of solar radiation and during peak demand. The Kathu site covers approximately 4.5 km², with 384,000 mirrors. Kathu was the first CSP development for ENGIE. Click here to access Kathu Solar Park’s website.

Xina Solar One is a 100 MW Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant located at Pofadder in the Northern Cape. It provides approximately 400 GWh of clean, sustainable and dispatchable electrical energy to 95,000 South African households and prevents the emission into the atmosphere of approximately 348,000 tons of CO2 each year. The plant uses parabolic trough technology to generate renewable, sustainable and dispatchable power from the sun. Furthermore, this power plant features a thermal energy storage system that uses molten salts to store the necessary energy for a further 5.5 hours supply, and thereby assists in meeting the South African peak demand. Click here for more on  Xina Solar One. 

Vredendal and Aurora Solar are two 10.5MW PhotoVoltic (PV) Solar Power Plants located in the Western Cape.

In Senegal: 

Kahone Solaire SA & Kael Solaire SA, are solar power plants which inject 60 MW into Senegal's national electricity grid.

In development:

Three 75MW solar power plants are currently in development, after being successful in Bid Window Five (BW5) of South Africa's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

Sannaspos PV an Grootspruit PV  will be constructed in the Free State province, while Graspan Solar PV will be built in the Northern Cape. The construction of the plants will begin mid-2023 and are expected to be commissioned between the end of 2024 and mid-2025.

For more information on mini-grids, and solar home systems, please click here for ENGIE Energy Access.