The week at a glance ... International

International

Upington, South Africa

World’s biggest solar plant: South Africa has announced plans to build an enormous solar power plant that would produce enough electricity to meet 10 percent of the country’s energy needs. Giant mirrors and solar panels would blanket an area of 35 square miles in the country’s sunny Northern Cape region. “It hardly ever rains, it hardly has clouds,” said project manager Jonathan de Vries. “It’s even better than the Sahara desert because it doesn’t have sandstorms.” Most of South Africa’s energy currently comes from coal, though one in six residents lacks electricity altogether. The solar project would be funded by a consortium of domestic and international investors.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us