The two Siemens photovoltaic plants will be erected as turnkey plants on an area of around one square kilometer.

Siemens has received the first South African order for construction of two photovoltaic (PV) plants. Purchaser is a consortium consisting of Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd., a globally active developer of renewable energy sources, its investment partner Globeleq, the South African investment company Thebe Investment Corporation and two local construction companies Enzani Technologies and Usizo Engineering. The solar power plants will be erected in De Aar and Droogfontein in the Nordkap province and are scheduled to go online in 2014. The capacity of 50 megawatts (MWp) for each plant is sufficient to provide overall more than 30,000 households in South Africa with clean electric power.

The South African government plans the construction of additional projects with a total capacity of 20,000 MWp of power generation from renewable energy sources by 2030, with the goal of improving the country's power supply system and increasing the number of power providers and operators on the domestic power market. The country has outstanding conditions for the utilization of renewable energy and has set up a remarkable program with the Independent Power Producer Procurement Program. With a strong presence in South Africa, Siemens is contributing to this leading renewable energy program on the African continent.

"We are proud to have been awarded the order for the two PV projects in the South African government's first round of tenders and to contribute to the development of the nation's sustainable power generation infrastructure," stated Ted Scheidegger, CEO of the Solar & Hydro Division.

"The projects are important for Mainstream and the investment partners. We are very delighted that once again we are partnering with Siemens," said Eddie O'Connor, CEO of Mainstream.

The two Siemens photovoltaic plants will be erected as turnkey plants on an area of around one square kilometer. Our unique "PVplanet" planning software, which optimizes the plant-layout along specific customer requirements (both technical and financial), will be used for these two projects. Siemens Energy developed this program together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM. The scope of supply for the plants includes the planning, construction and commissioning of the plants, along with a five-year operating and maintenance agreement.