Image via Wikipedia The renewable resource with the greatest potential in South Africa is solar energy. The total area of high radiation in South Africa amounts to approximately 194,000 km2, including the Northern Cape, one of the best solar resource areas in the world. South Africa has average daily solar radiation of between 4.5 and 6.5 kWh per m 2 . Solar thermal heating is the predominant mode of solar energy utilization in South Africa. Eskom is building a 100MW concentrated solar (CSP) power project in Upington (Northern Cape) with financial assistance from the World Bank. The Clinton Climate Initiative is partnering with the Department of Energy to set up a solar park in the Northern Cape, which will add 5GW to South Africa’s electricity generation. Siemens is also currently conducting a feasibility study on a possible 210 MW CSP plant in the Northern Cape to possibly come online by 2014 and the Industrial Development Corporation is also invest...
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