Enertis has performed the commissioning of the 94.3 MWp Sishen plant, the second largest plant built in South Africa. The facility, located in the Northern Cape province, features 319,600 PV modules mounted on 470 single-axis trackers. The production from the plant will be sent to the South African state-owned power utility Eskom under a long-term power purchase agreement.
According to Acciona, the Sishen plant will have the highest level of production of all the [PV] plants that are operational in Africa, delivering 216 GWh of electricity per year into the grid.
Enertis has carried out a comprehensive scope which includes an independent verification of the electrical and mechanical execution, coordination of the commissioning process, identification of construction defects, setting of communications, liaison for grid compliance tests, and performance of further acceptance tests such as the thermography of the PV panels.
Enertis has also performed a complete Quality Control of the PV modules. The inspection was initially performed directly at the manufacturer facilities in China, and finalised in its South African laboratory, in collaboration with its partners at the Port Elizabeths Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The tests included flash-test and Electroluminescence.
From its offices in Cape Town, Enertis is increasing its presence in the country and expanding its activities to other incumbent PV markets such as East Africa Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and other areas of Southern Africa Mozambique, Zambia and Namibia.
