SunPower Breaks Ground on 86 MW Solar Power Plant in South Africa

SAN JOSE, Calif. | Press Release — SunPower has begun construction on the 86-megawatt peak (MWp) Prieska solar power plant in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. Expected to be fully operational in 2016, the project represents the third solar power plant constructed by SunPower under the South Africa government’s renewable energy program (REIPPP). In 2014, SunPower completed two projects totaling 33 megawatts, located near Douglas in the Northern Cape province. “With an abundance of reliable, cost-effective solar resources, South Africa is one of the fastest growing solar markets in the world today,” said Tom Werner, president and CEO of SunPower, […]

SAN JOSE, Calif. | Press Release — SunPower has begun construction on the 86-megawatt peak (MWp) Prieska solar power plant in South Africa’s Northern Cape province.

Expected to be fully operational in 2016, the project represents the third solar power plant constructed by SunPower under the South Africa government’s renewable energy program (REIPPP). In 2014, SunPower completed two projects totaling 33 megawatts, located near Douglas in the Northern Cape province.

“With an abundance of reliable, cost-effective solar resources, South Africa is one of the fastest growing solar markets in the world today,” said Tom Werner, president and CEO of SunPower, a global provider of solar technology and energy services. “We are pleased to grow our presence in South Africa with the development of solar power plants that enable South Africa’s government to achieve its renewable goals, and look forward to continuing to serve the region with the opening of our new solar panel manufacturing plant this year.”

SunPower designed and is constructing the Prieska project, and will provide operations and maintenance services once it is operational. The project will sell the electricity it produces to the regional public utility ESKOM under a power purchase agreement. Approximately 700 jobs will be created by the project during construction.

SunPower® Oasis® Power Plant technology will be installed at the Prieska site. The technology uses single-axis trackers to position high efficiency SunPower solar panels to face the sun throughout the day, increasing energy capture by up to 25 percent over fixed-tilt solar technology.

The project has been secured under a project development agreement with South African Mulilo Solar Enterprises and Total, SunPower’s majority shareholder. The project company in charge of implementing the project is owned by affiliated companies including Total as majority shareholders (27 percent) and Mulilo Solar Enterprises (18 percent), along with four other partners including a local community trust.

At its new South African manufacturing plant, SunPower expects to produce up to 160 megawatts of high efficiency SunPower solar panels per year. The company estimates that the facility will create up to 150 local jobs.