20.5 billion dollar solar energy project in South Africa

4 October 2010

South Africa wants to attract investors to form a public-private partnership in order to finance a vast solar energy project estimated at over 20.5 billion dollars.

The South African energy minister, Dipuo Peters, announced at the weekend that the plan would include the installation of solar panels with a capacity of 5,000 MW in the Northern Cape region, reports the MAP press agency.

This initiative comes about after the World Bank recently granted a loan of three billion USD in order to promote the production of renewable energy.

In Morocco, a plan costing nine billion USD has been set up to develop the production of solar energy, with an extra 2,000 MW by 2020.

Five sites have been selected: the first will be at Ouarzazate in 2015, which will have a capacity of 500 MW.

"The goal of the solar plan is to establish a real economic path", explained M. Bakkoury, president of the Moroccan solar energy agency, in an interview last week with l'Agence Française de Presse.
 

Category: Energy