The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has revealed that the strange structures, which caused widespread public interest when they were erected on its Pretoria campus in full view of the N4 highway, are part of an advanced solar energy system that is providing the institution with electricity and research benefits.
Now that the system is up and running, the CSIR is working with the SA National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) to explore the most effective options to enable solar-powered electricity generation systems to supply electricity when the sun is not shining.
The CSIR structures that have created great public interest are a solar array consisting of 1, 800 photovoltaic (PV) modules covering a total surface area of 3, 493 m2 . The modules are controlled by a ground-mounted single-axis solar tracker that allows them to tilt and follow the movement of the sun from east to west. The tracking system is generally more expensive to install and maintain but produces more electricity than a fixed/non-tilting system.
The CSIR says the tracking PV facility is the first 100% South African designed and made tracking system and substructure in the country. “People are becoming familiar with seeing fixed-position solar panels on roofs, but for people with little knowledge of renewable energy, the CSIR solar array must have appeared as a strange sight,”
says Dr Karen Surridge, project manager of renewable energy at SANEDI, the state-owned agency mandated by government to coordinate renewable energy research and development in South Africa. “The CSIR solar array is fully operational and its high visibility on one of the busiest stretches of road in the country gives us an opportunity to make more people aware of renewable energy and its value.” The CSIR project provides multiple benefits, explains Surridge.
It is a valuable research facility and training ground for PV engineers and technicians, but it also generates 4% of the electricity required by the CSIR Pretoria campus. This is equivalent to the amount of electricity needed to power 200 middle-income households. By being able to produce some of its own electricity, the CSIR is also able to contribute to reducing the amount of electricity Eskom is required to generate for their demand and to easing the impact load shedding.