General:

Area:          1,221,037 sq. km

Capital:      Cape Town                             

Weather:    They are many variety of climatic zones exist

Population: 50,586,757

Electricity Supply:

Power utility company:  Eskom – Electricity Company, South Africa’s state-owned utility.

Total Power consumption: Eskom has 27 operational stations in South Africa that make up 40.7 GW of the country’s capacity. Additional capacity is from imports and independent power producers, resulting in a country capacity of about 43.5 GW, which aims to supply the forecasted peak demand of 36 GW (over 220 TWh)

PV radiation:  South Africa has one of the highest levels of solar radiation in the world. The solar radiation of South Africa ranges from around 1450 kWh per square meter to about 1950 kWh per square meter per year, compared to Europe which on average is 1000kWh per square meter per year.

Avg. price per  Kwh (comm.): Since 2008 the country has seen dramatic price rises, including 31.3% in 2009/10 resulting in an average electricity price of $ 0.049/kWh, which incorporated a $ 0.0029/kWh environmental levy, and 24.8% in 2010/2011 resulting in an average electricity price of  $ 0.0626/kWh. By 2013 the average price for electricity is therefore expected to be about $ 0.0985/kWh.

Renewable Energy resources: The renewable energy policy, with a target of at least 27% electricity supply from renewable sources and a high SWH rollout strategy, is identified as the most favored strategy for South Africa. The strategy would create the most possible employment, well above 100% change from the baseline from 2015, and would stabilizes the GHG emissions from the electricity sector. A mixture of wind (30%) and CSP (70%) would be the largest contributors to achieving this target in 2030, supported by the REFIT.

Regulative body: National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA)

Renewable Energy legislation:

State goal: The Department of Energy has established a target for renewable energy production at 10,000 GWh by December 2013.

PV Feed-In-Tariff current: Concentrating solar: $ 0.313/kWh.  A draft of Phase 2 of the REFIT was presented for public comment in July 2009. The Consultation Paper introduced tariffs in respect of a further five renewable energy technologies Concentrated solar power trough without storage at $ 0.468/kWh

PV Market: In 2002 Eskom installed a 25kW solar dish as part of the South African Bulk Renewable Energy Generation (SABRE) program and in 2010 it aims to build its 100 MW plant, which has been in the planning stages since 2001 and is supported by the World Bank loan. Besides Eskom’s 100 MW demonstration plant, the SKA MeerKAT radio telescope array program collaborated with the University of Stellenbosch on a feasibility study for a 100 MW CSP plant and a 0.5 MW PV system. The Clinton Climate Initiative is partnering with the Department of Energy to set up a solar park in the Northern Cape, which could add up to 5 GW of capacity to South Africa’s electricity generation.