Top 10 Largest Solar Power Plants In Africa
As the world looks to transition to more sustainable and renewable energy sources, solar power has emerged as a key contender for meeting our energy needs. With its abundant sunlight and vast open spaces, Africa is a continent that is well-suited to harnessing the power of the sun. In this article, we will take a look at the top 10 largest solar power plants in Africa.
Biggest Solar Power Plants in Africa 2024
- Benban Solar Park, Egypt
- Noor Complex Solar Power Plant, Morocco
- Sweihan Photovoltaic Solar Power Plant, UAE
- Solar Capital De Aar 3, South Africa
- Bokpoort Concentrated Solar Power Plant, South Africa
- Kathu Solar Park, South Africa
- Kamuthi Solar Power Project, India
- Khi Solar One Concentrated Solar Power Plant, South Africa
- Siraj-1, Mauritania
- Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village Solar Field, Rwanda
1. Benban Solar Park, Egypt
Located in the Aswan Governorate of Egypt, the Benban Solar Park is currently the largest solar power plant in Africa. It has a total capacity of 1.8 GW, with more than 6 million solar panels installed over an area of 37.2 square kilometers. The project was developed by a consortium of 32 companies from around the world and began operations in 2019.
The Benban solar park project with $4 billion funding from thirty international infrastructure developers, is a rare sight to behold in Africa. Among the financiers of the projects are Africa50, established by the African Development Bank, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
IFC and a consortium of other lenders pledged $653 million in 2017 to support the project. The financing will help 13 private companies build and operate power plants at the site.
Africa50 joined investors Norfund and Scatec Solar in 2017 to reach financial close for six of the 32 utility scale solar power plants in the complex, totaling 390 MW.
2. Noor Complex Solar Power Plant, Morocco
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The Noor Complex Solar Power Plant is a series of three separate solar power plants located near the city of Ouarzazate in Morocco. The combined capacity of the three plants is 580 MW, with a total of over 2 million solar panels. The project was developed by the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) and began operations in 2016.
In order to reduce dependence on energy imports, the Moroccan government has been actively developing renewable energy, and plans to raise the proportion of renewable energy to the total energy consumption to 42 percent by 2020.
Under the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013, Chinese builders came to Morocco to provide a solid fulcrum for the energy restructuring of this North African country.
The initiative, formally known as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Africa and Europe along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.
3. Sweihan Photovoltaic Solar Power Plant, UAE
While not located in Africa, the Sweihan Photovoltaic Solar Power Plant is worth mentioning as it is the largest single-site solar power plant in the world. Located in the UAE, the plant has a capacity of 1.17 GW and uses over 3.2 million solar panels. The project was developed by a consortium of Japanese and Emirati companies and began operations in 2019.
The Noor PV power plant was the largest single-site solar PV project at the time of completion in April 2019, with an installed capacity of 1,177 MW(DC) (881MW [AC]).
The plant uses monocrystalline PV modules from JinkoSolar in an east-west fixed-tilt ground mounted configuration, and Ingeteam inverters. The plant was completed on time and under budget, and has been operating for more than two years. It covers approximately 7.8km2 of land and contains about 3.2 million modules.
4. Solar Capital De Aar 3, South Africa
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Located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, the Solar Capital De Aar 3 is the largest solar power plant on the African continent outside of Egypt and Morocco. The plant has a capacity of 150 MW and uses over 400,000 solar panels. It began operations in 2018 and is owned by a consortium of South African and international investors.
This is enough power to supply approximately 49 525 average South African households with electricity each year. This means that if the energy from the Solar Capital De Aar 3 PV project was available directly to the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality only, it would have powered nearly all of its households,” she explained.
Since the implementation of the REIPPP Programme in South Africa, the province has attracted the lion’s share of IPP projects to date.
“To date, a total of 6 376MW of renewable energy has been procured from 102 IPPs under the REIPPPP. The 51 projects located in the Northern Cape account for 56% of procured capacity – a total of 3 581MW,” explained the Minister.
5. Bokpoort Concentrated Solar Power Plant, South Africa
Also located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, the Bokpoort Concentrated Solar Power Plant is a unique solar power plant that uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a receiver to generate electricity. The plant has a capacity of 50 MW and began operations in 2016. It is owned by ACWA Power, a Saudi Arabian energy company.
The Thermal Storage facility of Bokpoort CSP also enabled the plant to effectively support the grid with power during the critical evening peak (4pm – 10pm), while maintaining a Peak Hour Load Factor of about 82% for this period on a daily basis. Consistently exceeding all the key focus priorities of the REIPPP in terms of Socio-Economic and Enterprise Development, Bokpoort CSP has received several awards over the last 4 years for its benchmarking performance and delivery.
6. Kathu Solar Park, South Africa
The Kathu Solar Park is another solar power plant located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It has a capacity of 100 MW and uses over 384,000 solar panels. The project was developed by ENGIE, a French multinational electric utility company, and began operations in 2019.
Kathu Solar Park, through its leading Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology, commenced operations on 30 January 2019, to deliver renewable energy to South Africa’s national grid.
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This state-of-the-art CSP project with parabolic trough technology and equipped with a molten salt storage system, allows 4.5 hours of thermal energy storage, thereby limiting the intermittent nature of solar energy. Located in the Northern Cape Province, it is one of a few projects of its type in the country, and forms part of the government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) Programme, delivering jobs, socio-economic benefits and clean power.
7. Kamuthi Solar Power Project.
While not located in Africa, the Kamuthi Solar Power Project in India is worth mentioning as it is the largest single-site solar power plant in the world. The plant has a capacity of 648 MW and uses over 2.5 million solar panels. It began operations in 2016 and is owned by Adani Green Energy, a renewable energy company based in India.
ABB commissioned five sub-stations to connect the solar park with the National Grid on 13 June 2016. The Kamuthi Solar Power Project was completed on 21 September 2016 with an investment of around ?4,550 crore (equivalent to ?56 billion or US$700 million in 2020). The solar plant consists of 2.5 million solar modules, 380,000 foundations, 27,000 metres of structures, 576 inverters, 154 transformers, and almost 6,000 km of cables. Construction of the structures needed to mount the solar panels required 30,000 tonnes of galvanized steel.[10] Around 8,500 workers installed an average of 11 MW of capacity per day to complete the project within 8 months.
The entire solar park is connected to a 400 kV substation of the Tamil Nadu Transmission Corp.[13] The solar panels are cleaned daily by a self-charged robotic system.
8. Khi Solar One Concentrated Solar Power Plant, South Africa
The Khi Solar One Concentrated Solar Power Plant is located near the town of Upington in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It has a capacity of 50 MW and uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a receiver to generate electricity. The project was developed by Abengoa, a Spanish multinational corporation, and began operations in 2016.
Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B), the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, has received the “Provisional Acceptance Certificate” for Khi Solar One. Therefore, the 50 MW solar thermal tower plant is officially handed over to Khi Solar One Pty. Ltd, a corporation that is made up of Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) -one of the largest financial development institutions in South Africa-, Khi Community Trust and Abengoa.
9. Siraj-1, Mauritania
The Siraj-1 solar power plant is located in Mauritania, a country in West Africa. It has a capacity of 15 MW and uses over 50,000 solar panels. The project was developed by Masdar, a renewable energy company based in the UAE, and was completed in 2013. The plant provides electricity to over 39,000 households in Mauritania.
In its new low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission strategy to 2050, submitted to the United Nations (UN), the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development (MEM) of Morocco suggested to raise the share of renewable capacity in the country’s total power installed capacity mix to 80%. Morocco currently aims to increase the share of renewables in total power capacity to 52% by 2030. The new strategy plans to increase the share of renewable capacity to 70% by 2040 and 80% by 2050. GlobalData’s expert analysis delves into the current state and potential growth of the renewable energy market in Morocco. We cover: Download the full report to align your strategies for success and get ahead of the competition.??
10. Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village Solar Field, Rwanda
The Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village Solar Field is a unique solar power plant located in Rwanda. It was developed by Gigawatt Global, a Dutch renewable energy company, and has a capacity of 8.5 MW. The plant uses over 28,000 solar panels and provides electricity to the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, a community for orphaned and vulnerable children in Rwanda.
This solar field at the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda embraces a big range of causes: it helps the long-term sustainability of the Village, it is good for the environment, it generates local employment and education and it empowers the country with access to electricity - which in itself results in a myriad of benefits for the Rwandan population.
Located on rolling green hills, east of Kigali, this $23 million project is the first utility-scale, grid-connected, commercial solar field in East Africa. The field is 8.5 MW, and it increased Rwanda’s generation capacity by 6%.
In Conclusion, These 10 solar power plants represent some of the largest and most innovative solar energy projects on the African continent. As the world looks to transition to more sustainable and renewable energy sources, solar power is likely to play an increasingly important role in meeting our energy needs. With its abundant sunlight and vast open spaces, Africa has the potential to become a major hub for solar energy production in the coming years.
