South Africa’s biggest solar farm dwarfed by the world’s biggest

However, it is dwarfed by the Urumqi solar farm in the Xinjiang province in China — the world’s largest solar power facility, with a capacity of 3.5GW.

The Kenhardt solar battery storage facility started feeding power into Eskom’s grid in December 2023.

It comprises three solar plants totalling 540MW capacity and a large 225MW battery energy storage system (BESS).

According to Scatec, the 225MW BESS has a 1,140MWh capacity and can consistently supply 150MW of dispatchable power between 05:00 and 21:30 throughout the year.

Scatec is selling electricity from the Kenhardy facility to Eskom under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

To put this into perspective, this is roughly 30MW more than the Komati Power Station’s last unit produced when Eskom decommissioned the ageing plant in October 2022.

Scatec broke ground on the Kenhardt hybrid facility in July 2022, and at the peak of its construction, the site employed 2,600 workers.

The hybrid solar and battery facility spans 879 hectares and 10km from north to south.

According to Scatec, it required 9,000 kilometres of cabling, which is enough to cover the distance between South Africa and Norway.

Kenhardt’s BESS system consists of 456 units, each approximately the size of a shipping container and weighing 30 tonnes.

According to Scatec, the project was one of the world’s first and largest hybrid solar and battery storage facilities.

“A hybrid solar and battery storage plant integrates solar and battery technologies, overcoming intermittency challenges and bolstering grid stability,” the company said.

“With the ability to deliver reliable power in low or no sunlight, the integrated storage enhances overall reliability.”

According to BYD Energy, the battery used at Kenhardt is one of its systems. The Chinese firm is one of the world’s leading battery manufacturers, offering commercial and utility-scale storage products.

Compared to the world’s biggest solar farm

Images of Scatec’s Kenhardt hybrid solar and battery facility in the Northern Cape

The Midong solar farm in Urumqi in China’s Xinjiang province has a capacity of 3,500MW, roughly seven times that of the Scatec Kenhardt facility.

Situated in the desert region of Urumqi’s Midong district, the China Green Development Group-owned solar plant took the title of the world’s largest solar facility when it connected to the grid in May 2024.

It is the world’s largest solar plant, owned by the China Green Development Group.

It comprises 5.26 million, 650W, monocrystalline bifacial double-glass photovoltaic panels, and according to PV Magazine, the total installation cost was around R39 billion.

The facility’s extensive infrastructure includes 1.23 million supporting piles, five 220kV booster stations, and more than 208km of transmission lines connecting the array to the grid via a 750kV substation.

The solar array covers 80,937 hectares — roughly 92 times the area covered by the Kenhardt solar farm.

The Midong solar farm operates for approximately 1,740 hours per year, generating an estimated 6.09 billion kWh, or 6.09 million MWh per year.

Its location is also ideal for various types of renewable energy projects.

Xinjiang is situated in the western region of China and benefits from abundant solar and wind resources.

According to CDS Solar, the region has become a focal point for large-scale renewable energy projects as China continues with its ambitious efforts to expand renewable energy capacity.

Energy generated in Xinjiang is transported long distances through China’s West-to-East Power Transmission Project, which is designed to deliver power from resource-rich regions to densely populated ones.

The Midong Solar PV Park in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China

Issued on MyBoardband by Myles Lllidge | 598962-south-africas-biggest-solar-farm-dwarfed-by-the-worlds-biggest.html