Solar power plant in Northern Cape, South Africa. Approximate location -27.613, 23.025.
SolarNorthern CapeSouth AfricaSolar Thermal
Kathu CSP is a 100 MW solar power station in Northern Cape, South Africa. It is operated by Investec [7%]; Community Owned - Sishen Iron Ore Company-Community Development T. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 43k homes (estimated). It ranks #74 of 152 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2018, it is around 8 years old — recently built. 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 WKS0064975.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.
capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000800160); fuel: WRI source-record fuel
At 100 MW, Kathu CSP is well above the median solar plant in South Africa (66 MW). Technically it is described as Solar Thermal. Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Investec [7%]; Community Owned - Sishen Iron Ore Company-Community Development T.
This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a hot semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSh) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 27.6°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 70% 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: 24/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.
Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 0.1% 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.
For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.
Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.
Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.
The #3 largest solar power plant of 44 in South Africa by capacity.
South Africa has 44 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 2,490 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -27.613, 23.025 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Kathu CSP is a 100 MW source-record solar power plant in Northern Cape, South Africa, commissioned in 2018.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 42,548 homes (estimated).
Kathu CSP is operated by Investec [7%]; Community Owned - Sishen Iron Ore Company-Community Development T.
