ShareAfrica’s first concentrating solar cooling system
Mobile telecommunications company MTN has launched Africa’s first Concentrating Solar Cooling System in its Head office in Johannesburg.
Mobile telecommunications company MTN has launched Africa’s first Concentrating Solar Cooling System in its Head office in Johannesburg. The system uses a technology called Linear Fresnel Concentrating Solar Power.
The system consists of 242 solar receivers supplied by German manufacturer Schott and covering 484 m². These track the sun to generate pressurised hot water at 180°C. The hot water powers an absorption chiller which produces chilled water and the chilled water is circulated into the data centre to cool the IT equipment. It has a peak cooling capacity of 330 kW.
To make sure that the mirrors get the most of the sunlight, they follow the movement of the sun, using GPS technology and the date and time. When it is raining, the automatically move into a self-cleaning position and when it is cloudy, the mirrors move into an automatic stow position.
South Africa has 15 solar plants that contribute about 503 MW to the country’s electricity grid. The country has 64 more plants in the process of launching to produce an additional 3,900 MW of electricity.
The system consists of 242 solar receivers supplied by German manufacturer Schott and covering 484 m². These track the sun to generate pressurised hot water at 180°C. The hot water powers an absorption chiller which produces chilled water and the chilled water is circulated into the data centre to cool the IT equipment. It has a peak cooling capacity of 330 kW.
To make sure that the mirrors get the most of the sunlight, they follow the movement of the sun, using GPS technology and the date and time. When it is raining, the automatically move into a self-cleaning position and when it is cloudy, the mirrors move into an automatic stow position.
South Africa has 15 solar plants that contribute about 503 MW to the country’s electricity grid. The country has 64 more plants in the process of launching to produce an additional 3,900 MW of electricity.