Redstone Solar Thermal Power

Redstone Solar Thermal Power (RSTP) is a planned solar power tower solar thermal power plant, located in Postmasburg, near Kimberley, in the Northern Cape Region of South Africa. Redstone Solar Thermal Power is 100 megawatts (MW), and will be a solar tower plant with molten salt energy storage. The project is based on the technology used in Solar Reserve's Crescent Dunes project in the US[1]

Redstone Solar Thermal Power
CountrySouth Africa
LocationPostmasburg, Northern Cape Province
Coordinates28°18′S 23°21′E
StatusProposed
Construction beganunclear
Construction cost$715 million
Owner(s)ACWA Power
Solar farm
TypeCSP
CSP technologySolar power tower
Power generation
Units planned1
Nameplate capacity100 MW
Capacity factor54.8% (planned)
Annual net output480 GW·h (planned)
Storage capacity1,200 MW·he
External links
Websiteredstone csp ipp

Announcement in 2015

In January 2015, the South Africa Department of Energy awarded the RSTP project to a consortium led by SolarReserve and the Arabian Company for Water and Power Development (ACWA Power). The project was to achieve financial close at end of 2015 and commence operations in early 2018. Overall project cost were estimated at $715 million, and basic power tariff offered at $124/MW·h.[2] Peak power tariff is 270% of the basic power tariff i.e. $334/MW·h. Tariffs quoted in Rands, fully indexed, were R1.70/kWh base rate and R4.58/kWh peak rate (2015 rate).[3] The RSTP project would create 800 direct jobs during construction, with a planned 30-year operating life.

Technology

The RSTP project features a 2-tank direct molten salt energy storage with 12 hours of full-load energy storage, namely 1200 MW·h of equivalent power production, avoiding any backup fuel requirement. The RSTP project is located adjacent the 75 MW Lesedi and 96 MW Jasper photovoltaic solar power projects. Together the three projects comprise a combined CSP and PV solar park with a total 271 MW of generating capacity.[4]

Delay since 2016

In early 2016, the power purchase agreement (PPA) worth R50 billion with Eskom was postponed because of a generation surplus.[5][6]

In April 2018, the purchase power agreement (PPA) with Eskom was signed.[6] In August 2019, it was reported that financing for Redstone was complete.[7]

It is unclear what the bankruptcy of technology provider SolarReserve in 2020 means for the project.[8] On 10 May 2021 ACWA Power announced the achievement of financial close, with commercial operations expected to commence in Q4 2023.[9]

See also
  •  South Africa portal
  •  Renewable energy portal

References
  1. "SOUTH AFRICA DOE AWARDS 100MW SOLAR THERMAL POWER PROJECT TO SOLARRESERVE AND ACWA 08 JAN 2015" (PDF). Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  2. "SolarReserve Wins Bid to Build South African Solar Plus Storage Plant". Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  3. James Larmuth, and Alberto Cuellar. An updated review of South African CSP projects under the renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme (REIPPPP). AIP Conference Proceedings 2126, 040001 (2019); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5117581 Published Online: 26 July 2019
  4. "Nuwe kragaanleg voordelig". Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  5. "A 20-year power purchase agreement with Redstone Solar Thermal Power postponed until further notice". www.eskom.co.za. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  6. "Redstone CSP Contract Signed After 2-Year Delay". solarpaces.org. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  7. https://www.txfnews.com/Tracker/Details/84215624-f24a-47d6-8757-7a9c76b2c567/Redstone-CSP-project-financing-signed
  8. "America's Concentrated Solar Power Companies Have All but Disappeared".
  9. "ACWA Power Leads South Africa's Largest Renewable Energy Project REDSTONE CSP To Financial Close".
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