Nov 30 2010
Fluor Corporation, a company specializing in engineering, procurement and construction management (ECPM) projects, has been chosen by the Department of Energy (DoE), to undertake a field study for developing a solar park in Northern Cape, South Africa.
The field study is in sequence of a pre-feasibility study performed by the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), and requires Fluor to offer an abstract plan to take the project to the next level.
The proposed solar park designed to generate around 5 GW of electricity is expected to become the largest solar park in the world. On completion of the current abstract study, a design plan with more details will be formulated.
The DOE plans to set up a solar park authority as a separate segment within the Central Energy Fund to advance the project. The planned solar park will host a number of current as well as emerging solar techniques such as concentrated PV plants, solar photovoltaic, concentrating solar power, parabolic trough and power tower. According to the DOE reports, an investment of over $20 billion is required to complete the project.
Dave Dunning, President of Fluor Power Group, said that the company has teamed up with the CCI and the DoE in the solar project. He added that the company has executed several projects in South Africa.
Mark Flower, Managing Director of Fluor South Africa, said that the company is excited to encourage renewable solar energy as important energy source. He added that the company has made huge investments in the delivery sequence of the required solar PV parts.