South Africa: Acciona launches Sishen solar PV plant

Spain’s Acciona Energia announced 10 December that it had commissioned the Sishen solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at Dibeng in Northern Cape Province. The plant, with a peak capacity of 94.3MWp and nominal capacity of 74MW, is the second largest operational solar project in South Africa and the company’s largest to date. Covering around 250 hectares, the facility comprises 470 solar trackers supporting 319,600 PV modules. Estimated annual output of 216 GWh, equivalent to the consumption of around 100,000 local households a year, will be sold to Eskom under a long-term power purchase agreement.