Government says the electricity master plan, IRP2010, does not rule out the establishment of the solar park.
A pre-feasibility study by the Clinton Climate Initiative showed that solar projects could generate up to 5 gigawatts of cost effective electricity, which would be a boon to South Africa's energy grid.
IRP2010 is a 20-year plan that is designed to provide a comprehensive policy framework and energy mix to guide our country's future electricity expansion. It has been released for public comment before it is finally approved by Cabinet later this year.
The current draft IRP2010 makes provision for the target of 600 megawatts (MW) by 2017.
Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said that confusion around the creation of the solar park is linked to the fact that its envisaged electricity generation ability surpasses the target set in IRP2010.
"Realistic targets for electricity generation can only be included in the IRP once we have completed the feasibility studies, which will provide certainty on the necessary core data with regard to the time frames for the implementation of the envisaged solar park, the scale of its operations (and the) mix of solar technologies that will be used to generate electricity," said Peters.
The department said the draft IRP2010 is written with enough flexibility to accommodate the Solar Park concept.
Under renewable energy, it makes provision for 7 200 MW of wind, concentrated solar power, biomass as well as other renewables.
Peters reiterated government's commitment to place 30% of new generation capacity in the hands of independent power producers'.
The Northern Cape is ideal for a solar park because of the abundance of sun in the province. Land availability, connection to the grid and water availability (through the Orange River) were also deciding factors in choosing the Northern Cape, the department said. - BuaNews
