Gensets for a solar power plant in South Africa that will supply electricity to 150,000 homes

Genesal Energy contributed with the project design and supply of two emergency gensets.

Kathu Solar Park in South Africa is a concentrated solar power system(CSP) up to 100MW. Building commenced in May 2016, and it is destined to be in service by the end of 2018.

The thermoelectric plant itselfwill be able to supply 4.5 hours of thermal energy thanks to cutting edge technology which allows supply to continue well after the sun has gone down. When fully operational Kathu Solar Park will supply power to 150,000 households. Also, according to the construction management team, the installation will contribute to sustainable development in the province of North Cape where the plant is situated. This will result in a C02 emissions saving of 6,000,000 tonnesover the next 20 years.

Genesal designed the emergency gensets in compliance with a series of requirements. The gensets had to be soundproofedand the control room needed to be maintained at an optimal working temperature. This was achieved by installing a split air conditioning system and a heat exchanger.

Remote Control

Rock wool acoustic panels inside a metallic mesh cover were used for soundproofing, guaranteeing an excellent attenuation result, functionally, but also aesthetically. The interior of the generator set was split in to two clearly defined compartments: the engine room and the control room. The emergency gensets can be controlled either directly via the in-built control panels using buttons, switches and touch screen technology or it can be controlled remotely through a DCS (distributed control system) which is a method to centralize and controlthe entire power station.

Alongside the gensets two double walled certified fuel tanks were supplied for external installation, one at 7,500 litres full load, and the other at 10,000 litres, guaranteeing over 24 hours of autonomy if necessary.