Soitec to build 44MWp capacity Touwsrivier power plant
Solar Novus Today reports that Soitec - a leader in the generation and manufacturing of semiconductor materials for the electronic and energy industries, announced it has signed a power purchase agreement covering electricity generated in South Africa's Touwsrivier power plant. Soitec submitted its proposal in response to the South African Ministry of Energy's December 2011 call for projects from independent power producers (IPPs).
Having signed the power purchase agreement, Soitec will now seek to refinance the project and launch the construction of the 44MWp capacity Touwsrivier power plant, situated near the Western Cape's Aquila Private Game Reserve, where Soitec has already built a pilot facility. Construction is scheduled to be completed during 2014, but commercial operation of the first installed systems will begin in mid-2013.
According to the South African Department of Energy's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP2010), about 42% of the electricity generated in the country will come from renewable resources in 2030, Solar Novus Today says.
Read the full article on www.solarnovus.com.