astronomy

Redstone Solar Thermal Power

Redstone Solar Thermal Power is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Redstone Solar Thermal Power rather than just read about it. In short: Redstone Solar Thermal Power (RSTP) is a solar power tower with molten salt energy storage, located in Postmasburg, near Kimberley, in the Northern Cape Region of South Africa. Redstone will have a capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) to deliver power to 200,000 people and was awarded in bid window 3.5 of the REIPPP at a strike price of 122.3 ZAR/KWh including time of day pricing in 2015.

Key takeaways

Redstone Solar Thermal Power belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Redstone Solar Thermal Power to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Redstone Solar Thermal Power from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Redstone Solar Thermal Power (RSTP) is a solar power tower with molten salt energy storage, located in Postmasburg, near Kimberley, in the Northern Cape Region of South Africa. Redstone will have a capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) to deliver power to 200,000 people and was awarded in bid window 3.5 of the REIPPP at a strike price of 122.3 ZAR/KWh including time of day pricing in 2015. The project was initially based on the technology of now bankrupt Solar Reserve, but was delayed for several years because the PPA was not signed by Eskom until 2018. After the project was revived, the plant was put under construction, until May 2025 when it was connected to the grid for the first time after 4 years of construction. The technology is provided by Brightsource and John Cockerill, as demonstrated in the Noor Energy 1 project in the UAE.

Announcement in 2015 In January 2015, the South Africa Department of Energy awarded the RSTP project to a consortium led by SolarReserve and the Arabian Company for Water and Power Development (ACWA Power). The project was to achieve financial close at end of 2015 and commence operations in early 2018. Overall project cost were estimated at $715 million, and basic power tariff offered at $124/MW·h. Peak power tariff is 270% of the basic power tariff i.e. $334/MW·h. Tariffs quoted in Rands, fully indexed, were R1.70/kWh base rate and R4.58/kWh peak rate (2015 rate). The RSTP project would create 800 direct jobs during construction, with a planned 30-year operating life.

Technology The RSTP project features a 2-tank direct molten salt energy storage with 12 hours of full-load energy storage, namely 1200 MW·h of equivalent power production, avoiding any backup fuel requirement. The RSTP project is located adjacent the 75 MW Lesedi and 96 MW Jasper photovoltaic solar power projects. Together the three projects comprise a combined CSP and PV solar park with a total 271 MW of generating capacity.

Delay since 2016 In early 2016, the power purchase agreement (PPA) worth R50 billion with Eskom was postponed because of a generation surplus. In April 2018, the purchase power agreement (PPA) with Eskom was signed. In August 2019, it was reported that financing for Redstone was complete. It is unclear what the bankruptcy of technology provider SolarReserve in 2020 means for the project. On 10 May 2021 ACWA Power announced the achievement of financial close, with commercial operations expected to commence in Q4 2023. ACWA Power appointed Chinese company SEPCO3 to finish construction on the project. The facility's tower was eventually completed in 2024, reaching a height of 248 meters. However, not all of the planned 40,000 heliostats surrounding the tower had been constructed at this point. Synchronization onto the national grid was then expected to take place in September 2024.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Redstone Solar Thermal Power

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Redstone Solar Thermal Power claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Redstone Solar Thermal Power before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Redstone Solar Thermal Power ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Redstone Solar Thermal Power

In research: Redstone Solar Thermal Power appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Redstone Solar Thermal Power in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Redstone Solar Thermal Power is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Economy of the Northern Cape, Solar power stations in South Africa, Solar thermal energy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Redstone Solar Thermal Power outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Redstone Solar Thermal Power in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Redstone Solar Thermal Power means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Redstone Solar Thermal Power out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Redstone Solar Thermal Power in simple terms?

Why does Redstone Solar Thermal Power matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Redstone Solar Thermal Power?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Redstone Solar Thermal Power.