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A South African engineer and technician work on the Helio 100 Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) pilot facility at Mariendahl experimental farm of the University of Stellenbosh, South Africa, 02 September 2015. The Helio 100 could become the most cost effective and smallest plug and play solar solution in the world. Using Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology, the facility consists of a field of tracking mirrors called heliostats and a small tower that captures concentrated sunlight capable of running a turbine at a 1,000 degrees Celsius. Developed by the Solar Thermal Energy Research Group (STERG) at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa the Helio 100 is a breakthrough due to the cost effective nature of the facility. Plans to roll out the technology have attracted a German consortium and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology solar company. Previously the worldwide hinderance to the technology was the high costs involved, but now the Helio 100 can be installed anywhere by only two people at a low cost. The pilot project with over 100 heliostats of 2.2 square meters each generates 150 Kilowatts (kW) of power in total enough to power approximately 10 households. (Photo by Nic Bothma/EPA)
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