The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a R1.4 billion finance contract to support the development of the !Ka Xu 100 MW concentrated solar power plant in the Northern Cape.

​Once fully developed the !Ka Xu concentrated solar thermal plant will collect solar energy using parabolic trough technology and convert it into electricity in the steam cycle. Through a built-in molten salt storage system or the thermal energy storage, the plant will have capacity to store energy during off peak hours and dispatch it during peak hours.

The DBSA is confident that this investment in the renewable energy programme will have positive contribution towards efforts to minimise adverse impact of energy generation on the environment and in particular on climate change.

“The South African energy sector is faced with a number of challenges. And as the DBSA, we are encouraged by the EIB’s trust and confidence towards our investment strategy in supporting South Africa´s power generation infrastructure to improve the security of energy supply and optimise the energy mix which is much needed to accelerate the economic growth of South Africa,” the DBSA said in a statement.