by Tech Talk | Mar 15, 2023 | Articles
“…Persistent load shedding is impeding our recovery… We know that without a reliable supply of electricity, businesses cannot grow, assembly lines cannot run, crops cannot be irrigated, and basic services are interrupted”, said H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address recently. “Without a reliable supply of electricity our efforts to grow an inclusive economy that creates jobs and reduces poverty will not succeed,” he added.
There is no doubt that the South African power generation crisis is a tremendous challenge for the country and is endangering the country’s economy as a whole. As President Ramaphosa expressed in his speech, the trickle-down consequences of a delayed response in addressing these challenges will be dire for businesses, jobs and livelihoods.
By Janek Winand, MD: South Africa at Siemens Gamesa
As the second-biggest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa has been restricted for years in its development by constant power cuts, lasting hours at a time, undermining people’s ability to develop their lives, businesses to grow and services to function. However, the worsening of this situation over the past 12 months has made the situation unsustainable.
This is a particularly challenging reality to accept taking into consideration how rich South Africa is in energy resources, particularly renewable clean resources, that can help the country expand its power generation capacity and, in doing so, supporting its move towards a growing and greener economy.
Wind currently represents the best response to address the blackouts that are crippling the nation and mitigate the risk of a grid collapse. With the right incentives and policies, renewable energy sources, particularly wind power, could rapidly help to resolve some of the country’s most challenging energy problems.
By investing in dispatchable power, grid expansion, grid stabilizers, and energy storage, South Africa will create a resilient foundation for clean energy expansion.
These efforts will contribute to faster development and integration of new power generation plants into the national grid while addressing issues with the integration of intermittent power sources like solar and wind, while contributing to a reduction of the country’s dependence on coal-fired power generation, representing today still more than 80%.
South Africa is endowed with tremendous potential for wind power generation, which is now the most economically competitive form of generation in the country, alongside photovoltaic solar power.
Furthermore, it is the fastest to deploy. A wind project today, takes, from contract signed to production, just 24 months, compared to several years or even decades that nuclear or fossil-fuel power plants take to plan and develop, and at a fraction of the cost, and with much more flexibility. This technology is also consistently becoming more competitive.
At Siemens Gamesa, we’ve seen this evolution happening in real time. In recent years we have built 855 MW of onshore wind power in South Africa installing wind turbines with a maximum power output of 2,3MW per unit. Today, we already offer turbines in-country with an output of 6,6MW per unit.
To put it into perspective, to produce 150MW of power, a wind power plant now requires only 23 turbines, in contrast to 61 just a few years ago. The levelised cost of energy (LCoE) at the end of the day is being decreased dramatically.
The future of the energy mix will inevitably be one of combined sources of power, and in a just transition scenario, we must consider all options available to ensure access to power and economic development for all, with sustainability as a central strategic objective. As solar produces its maximum output throughout the day and wind more energy in the mornings and the evenings, both sources are complementary by nature, to have a seamless flow of power into the grid.
Also, to be noted, is that while coal and nuclear power generation might still be of strategic importance to South Africa, they use a very substantial amount of water to operate, which is a relevant concern in a country that battles regularly with water shortages.
In our experience, wind power projects in South Africa have had a tremendously positive impact not only in generating low-cost electricity to the grid, but also directly and indirectly on the communities around the projects themselves, many of them quite remote. These projects require a number of services during development, many sourced from the local communities, thereby stimulating the local economy, with a trickle-down effect.
The growth of the industry has also stimulated interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields by young professionals eager to work with and within a transition to a greener energy landscape. There are multiple opportunities for synergies and collaborations with the local communities in these developments, which we promote to a great extent in the development of our windfarms.
In terms of funding, the willingness to invest is already there. South African banks have sufficient funds to invest in renewable energies, and are also very motivated to do so. All that is needed is the political will to move forward.
The announcement of Bid Window 7 is very welcome news, as well as the Power Purchase Agreement (PPS) market picking up after the licensing cap has been lofted.
But more needs to be done. Auctions need to happen more regularly and with an established short-, mid- and long-term pipeline that can provide companies with predictability and opportunities to plan ahead. The timeframes for approval processes and evaluations need to be shortened and simplified in order to accelerate development of new capacity.
In sum, it is imperative that we implement all the possible means to tackle the energy crisis head on as well as, in the words of President Ramaphosa, “undertake our just transition in a way that opens up the possibility of new investments, new industrialisation and that, above all, creates new jobs”.
The answer is right there, blowing in the wind.
Editor@tech-talk.co.za
by Tech Talk | Feb 27, 2023 | Articles
Eskom on Saturday announced that it is positioning itself to play an important role in supporting the development of the electric mobility (e-mobility) sector in South Africa.
Speaking at Africa’s Green Economy Summit held in Cape Town this week, Eskom Group Executive for Distribution, Monde Bala, stated that the organisation has pledged to be part of the anchor market for electric vehicles (EVs) to make a positive contribution towards local market stimulation.
The power utility said it has joined the list of local sponsors for the E-Fest Electric with a R2.1 million sponsorship, which will profile Eskom’s microgrid technology and mobility solution.
Africa’s first consumer clean energy and electric event, E-Fest Electric, is taking place in Cape Town this weekend.
Eskom said that it has already submitted the residential time-of-use (ToU) charging tariff to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for approval.
This will enable EV owners to achieve significant savings when using the off-peak and standard periods to charge their cars, encouraging EV uptake and boosting electricity sales.
“In line with Eskom’s Just Energy Transition (JET) vision of achieving ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2050, we are also aiming for zero emissions from our sizeable fleet of vehicles. We aspire to replace our entire fleet of conventional vehicles with electric vehicles by 2040,” said Bala.
Eskom said it is undertaking a pilot project to introduce electric vehicles, utility and passenger, to the Eskom fleet, which amounts to approximately 13 000 vehicles.
Plans are underway to begin the process of converting the rest of the Eskom fleet to electric where possible.
“We will soon seek suitable partners for the rollout of public charging stations at Eskom sites across the country through the applicable procurement processes. In time, these should be accessible to the public,” said Bala.
Eskom has also announced that it is deploying microgrids that will also support the growth of eMobility in the country, while also serving as an alternative solution to addressing load shedding.
Eskom currently has four sites being powered by the microgrid technology in Ficksburg (Free State), Lynedoch (Western Cape) and Swartkop (Northern Cape), supplying renewable electricity to over 200 households, a police station and businesses in that area.
According to the power utility, it is conducting feasibility studies at more than 80 project sites around the country.
Most of the identified sites will use solar photovoltaic (PV) as the primary source of energy and lithium ion batteries for storage capability.
Other sites will use micro wind turbines and small-scale hydro turbines, based on the most optimum energy source available.
The rollout of these projects will be phased over the next five years.
The deployment of the microgrids in Swartkop and Ficksburg serves as a proof of concept in using of microgrids in remote areas that are difficult to reach or expensive to electrify through the conventional means of electrification.
“On the other hand, the installation of the microgrid at Lynedoch residential area demonstrates how this technology can be used to complement the grid, serving as a backup electricity supply to households, hospitals and other facilities. As an added advantage, microgrids contribute to reducing carbon emissions because they use renewable sources,” the power utility said.
Battery storage, according to Eskom, will also be a key enabler of eMobility.
Eskom is making notable progress in this regard, with the construction of the first energy storage facility under Eskom’s flagship Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) project having already begun at the Elandskop BESS site in KwaZulu-Natal in December last year.
Editor@tech-talk.co.za
by Tech Talk | Oct 20, 2022 | Articles
Pick n Pay wants to ditch Eskom in favour of alternative electricity sources, the grocery retailer’s CEO Pieter Boone said.
The company says it is investing in alternative sources to keep its operations afloat and is in discussions with landlords to end its reliance on South Africa’s national power grid.
“It’s part of our strategic initiative and also part of the plan in relation to our ESG [environmental, social and governance] strategy,” Boone said.
“And of course, we are in close contact and in discussions with the landlords where we occupy [sites] in centres in order to find alternative sources than only electricity from the grid.”
The move isn’t Pick n Pay’s first involving alternative power sources, with the retailer partnering with Fortress Real Estate Investments (REIT) to develop its solar-powered Eastport distribution centre in 2021.
“You will see in our new Eastport DC, we are fully on solar, and as a consequence of that, the building will have a green label,” Boone said during the interview.
According to a Fortress REIT press release, it will ultimately own 40% of the development, with Pick n Pay holding a majority share of 60%. It expects to complete the project by June 2023.
“Fortress will fund the incremental capital required for the development from existing available facilities,” it said.
The distribution centre is located at the Eastport Logistics Park near the OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, and will cover 36 hectares with state-of-the-art infrastructure.
Before June 2021, Pick n Pay’s solar-powered distribution centre likely wouldn’t have been allowed as the limit for private power generation was set at a single megawatt.
However, on 10 June 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he would increase the embedded generating electricity capacity threshold from 1MW to 100MW, allowing households and businesses to build much bigger self-generating power privately.
Ramaphosa then announced he was lifting the threshold entirely in July 2022 as part of his plan to fix Eskom and end load-shedding.
The government’s decision to raise the licencing threshold to 100MW unlocked a pipeline of more than 80 confirmed private sector projects with a combined capacity of over 6,000MW.
Due to the enthusiasm with which the private sector received the invitation to produce their own power, Ramaphosa said the government would remove the embedded generation threshold.
Pick n Pay is not alone in its quest to escape Eskom, with a section of the Linbro Park suburb in Johannesburg announcing its intentions to ditch the power utility and get electricity from a private power producer instead in May 2022.
Greenstone Energy asked the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for permission to supply the area with electricity using gas-powered plants.
It would serve 1,781 households, three offices, two schools, two churches, a hotel, and a conference centre.
The move came after the suburb’s residents and businesses suffered 66 days of power outages on top of their typical load-shedding schedule.
South African Independent Power Producers Association chair Tommy Garner stated that Eskom was not meeting the requirements of its distribution licence in the area.
The suburb plans to acquire an initial 1MW of gas generation from Greenstone, which will increase to 5.8MW as developments in the area expand.
Editor@tech-talk.co.za
by Tech Talk | Sep 19, 2022 | Articles
Eskom announced that it will soon launch a crowdsourcing digital platform to supplement its existing skills base to help address its operational challenges.
According to the State-owned power entity, the platform will act as a skills database for Eskom to acquire additional expertise and resolve its urgent business needs.
The crowdsourcing initiative, according to Eskom, will also leverage partnerships with statutory and non-statutory bodies, such as the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), to ensure that it can access the best candidates in the electricity supply industry, engineering and technical professions.
In recent months, the power utility, which continues to battle capacity constraints, said it has received an overwhelming response to its call for skilled personnel to come forward to assist in rebuilding skills and numerous organisations, and people have come forward to respond to this critical call for national service.
“A diverse cross-section of South Africans have sent enquiries and made themselves available to respond to the call to national service,” said Eskom Group Chief Executive, André de Ruyter.
“Eskom is in the process of matching the skills that have already been made available to its needs and will be recruiting the suitable candidates imminently.”
Crowdsourcing, according to Eskom, is the practice of obtaining information or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via a digital platform.
Since South Africa has a pool of skilled people, crowdsourcing of these skills may offer a unique opportunity for available and willing citizens to support Eskom to resolve its business challenges.
The entity said it has been prompted by several offers and submissions received from organisations and individuals, including experienced engineers and technical experts, who have indicated that they could potentially assist Eskom.
“For Eskom to reap the highest benefit from this diversity of skills, it must also develop a governance mechanism and a platform that will provide an equitable opportunity to all those willing to be considered for service,” said Group Executive for Human Resources, Elsie Pule.
“The process will be driven by the needs of Eskom and will follow a standard governance process for fixed-term contracting.”
Interested people will be able to register on the digital platform to allow Eskom to access skills across the country.
Eskom said it looks forward to collaborating with South African citizens to address the current electricity supply challenges facing the country.
Skills that would be required, include but are not limited to, mechanical, nuclear, electrical, system and maintenance skills, as well as senior artisans and plant operators for coal and nuclear power stations.
While the digital platform is still in development, individuals who wish to be considered can contact the office of the Group Executive for Human Resources via crowdsourcing@eskom.co.za
Editor@tech-talk.co.za
