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Thanks to its annual global irradiation of up to 2,800 kWh/m², South Africa is an attractive solar energy market. However, as yet solar cooling and solar process heat are not very common. Nevertheless, the long-term rise in energy prices and declining system costs make such facilities attractive renewable energy investments – especially for industrial use.

Installation of Fresnel collector in Johannesburg

Together with its South-African partner REACH Renewable Pty Ltd., Industrial Solar GmbH has equipped the multinational telecom company Mobile Telecom Networks (MTN) with a solar thermal cooling system. A Fresnel collector with a thermal peak capacity of 272 kWth was installed on the roof of the company’s head office in Johannesburg. The collector powers a two-phase absorption cooling machine with a cooling capacity of 330 kW. The generated refrigeration is fed into the data centre’s local district cooling system and used, among other purposes, for air conditioning or processor coolers. This reduces the use of fossil fuels, CO2 emissions and electricity costs, especially in the hot summer months. The inauguration ceremony took place on 9 July 2014 in the presence of local politicians and media representatives, the German Embassy, the Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena) – the German Energy Agency – and Industrial Solar GmbH.

About the German project partner

Industrial Solar GmbH is a provider of tailor-made solutions in the fields of solar process heat and solar thermal cooling systems. The systems are not only based on a Fresnel collector, they also involve other solar technologies and/or renewable energy sources and are specifically made for use in the medium capacity range.
REACH Renewable PTY Ltd. is a company specialising in energy-efficient systems and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy systems.

System Data