Flow batteries have been around for several decades but until recently have been scaled for utility sized operation. Recent developments have produced smaller units which are finding application in industrial networks. A bank of such units manufactured by Redflow, was recently installed at the premises of Bosco in Johannesburg. The ZBM2 flow battery unit, which […]
The South African Breweries (SAB) commenced a programme between 2012 and 2013 to reduce its carbon footprint and emissions. The main objective was to cease the use of coal fired boilers. SAB substituted their coal fired boilers by installing two new natural gas fired boilers and converting two coal-fired boilers to natural gas with energy savings of […]
The 500 kW photovoltaic (PV) plant discussed in this article operates in the Northern Cape and has been in operation for over a year. The aim of this assessment is to provide a simplistic approach to determine the performance which can typically be achieved by a PV plant after a certain period of operation. The […]
Privately owned small-scale photovoltaic (PV) plants meant primarily for own generation, are becoming more and more popular and being installed at an increasing rate in this country. The industry suffers both from a lack of quality control and a lack of applicable standards and legislation. The problems are being addressed by both the industry and […]
Lightning-protection systems (LPS) for utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) plants have to conform to SANS/IEC 62305. Design expertise is required to ensure best-practice engineering, but the fact that such PV plants are relatively new in South Africa means there is not a large body of local data available in this regard. The risk-evaluation matrix of SANS/IEC 62305 is […]
The Johannesburg landfill gas-to-energy project, initially conceived as a carbon reduction project, aims to mitigate greenhouse gases from five landfill sites in Johannesburg, through converting its landfill gas to electricity. The five sites have a combined potential capacity of 18,6 MW of electricity, and the project will be by far the largest municipal-driven renewable […]
The Renewable Energy Data and Information Service (REDIS) has been updated with new data up until June 2017. REDIS provides project data for 121 renewable energy generators, and now features more than one million hourly electricity production data records from 83 plants in operation, from April 2012 to June 2017. In this REDIS update, […]
The growing global demand for energy, coupled with the increasing popularity of the “green” lifestyle, has fueled the search for clean, renewable energy resources in recent years. Wind energy, in particular, is being harnessed throughout the world and is quickly becoming the utility industry’s most popular renewable energy source. Taking advantage of this naturally […]
Pumped-storage (PWS) hydroelectricity systems are to be found throughout the world, but mainly on a large scale. The demand for storage associated with distributed renewable energy (RE) systems, particularly wind and solar power, has opened up the market for a new generation of PWS facilities can be built on a much smaller scale, while being […]
Before a wind energy farm (WEF) is connected to the grid it must be tested to certify that it complies with both performance requirements and the grid code. Testing and verification is made difficult because the dependence on primary source conditions, i.e., sufficient wind and sun of the required level and stability. For this […]
