Khi Solar One

Khi Solar One (KSO) is a solar power tower solar thermal power plant, located in the Northern Cape Region of South Africa. Khi Solar One is 50 megawatts (MW), and is the first solar tower plant in Africa. It covers an area of 140 hectares (346 acres). Abengoa claims that Khi Solar One is the first thermal solar tower plant in Africa and the first to achieve 24 hours of operation using only solar energy. This is made possible by reduced electricity demand at night, as the plant's storage system can provide full output for only two hours. The KSO is an evolution of the PS10 and PS20 projects, operating since 2007 and 2009 respectively in Spain. KSO solar field is made of more than 4,000 heliostats, totaling up to 576,800 m2 (6, 209, 000 ft2) of mirror surface, focusing solar energy on a boiler located on top a centralized 205-metre-high (673 ft) tower. KSO uses a superheated steam cycle that should be able to reach a maximum operating temperature of 530 °C. Accumulated saturated steam is also used to provide up to two hours of thermal storage at the plant. KSO condenser is cooled with a dry cooling system, a natural draft condenser that uses towers to distribute air across fin blades in order to dissipate heat. The project has been developed by the Spanish company Abengoa, and the project was financed with help from Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and community group, Khi

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