A mega solar park coming to California will be first out of the box but a proposed 5GW park in South Africa will outshade the U.S. by a factor of five.

The U.S. park was approved this month in Blythe, California by the Dept of the Interior. Backed by a German solar firm, it will cover 7,000 acres, providing energy for up to 750,000 homes.

But Blythe's status as the world's largest solar farm could be short lived if ambitious plans to be unveiled this month by South Africa are realized, observed James Murray on the website BusinessGreen.com

South Africa’s plans will be unveiled this week at the SA Solar Park Investors Conference in Upington, Northern Cape (Oct. 28-29). Up to 200 foreign and domestic investors are expected to view the conceptual master plan by the U.S. engineering group Fluor, with a view to funding the ambitious solar project.

Peter De Vries, special adviser to the SA energy minister, said the Northern Cape had been chosen for insolation readings  (a measure of solar energy) that rank among the highest in the world. "It hardly ever rains, it hardly has clouds. It's even better than the Sahara desert because it doesn't have sandstorms."
The proposed project would see a string of solar plants covering move than 22 thousand acres in the Northern Cape, a region with some of the highest levels of solar energy in the world.

Northern Cape, which contains the historic diamond-rush town, Kimberley, is South Africa's biggest province and one of its poorest. But it is hoped the park would create a "solar hub" and regenerate the local economy with fresh opportunities in manufacturing.

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source:GIN