Solar power plant in Northern Cape, South Africa. Approximate location -31.727, 23.192.
SolarNorthern CapeSouth Africa
Kalkbult Solar Power Plant is a 75 MW solar power plant in Northern Cape, South Africa. It is operated by Scatec Solar. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 31,911 homes (estimated). It ranks #61 of 122 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 8.0% of South Africa's electricity; the national grid averages 699 gCO₂/kWh (17.8% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1026045.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Scatec Solar. All plants by this company →
This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 31.7°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
Heating degree-days here run 36% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.
Climate heat-demand index: 35/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.
In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.
Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 0.0% at warm-season highs here (estimate).
Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.
The #14 largest solar power plant of 44 in South Africa by capacity.
South Africa has 44 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 2,313 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -31.727, 23.192 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
