Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has launched its second solar powered airport, this time in Kimberley in the Northern Cape.

The opening ceremony was attended and officiated by Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters.

A solar farm is located on 0.7 hectares of land within the airport precinct and uses an 11kV substation as its main source of supply, which is also located on the airport’s land. The construction of the plant at Kimberley Airport started in September 2015 and was completed within 24 weeks on 18 April 2016 at a cost of R13.5 million.

Using photovoltaic 1620 PV panels and 18 inverters, solar radiation energy is converted into electricity. The plant is designed to deliver 500 KWp of peak production per year.

According to ACSA, the plant has generated 141 870 kWh to date and is forecast to produced approximately 927 000 kilowatt hours per year. The company says five permanent and 26 temporary employment opportunities were created during the construction phase.

Practical training to operate and maintain the PV plant has been conducted, which included cleaning modules, replacing malfunctioning electrical components and monitoring performance of the PV plant, among other technical skills.

ACSA’s broader plan is to install solar farms at all six of its commercial airports in South Africa.