The opening of the Kathu concentrating solar power (CSP) plant on 4 April adds a further 100 MW to the operating CSP capacity in South Africa. Part of Window 3 of the renewable energy independent power producers procurement programme, Kathu Solar Park (KSP) was synchronised to the grid in November 2018 and started delivering power […]
. Further to information received from reliable sources last year, and published by EE Publishers in an article in September 2018, Standard Bank has now explicitly confirmed to EE Publishers in writing that “as things stand presently, Standard Bank is not involved in the financing of either the Thabametsi or Khanyisa [new coal IPP] projects”. […]
Electrical power generation and distribution have become emotive topics in South Africa due to periodic disruptions to supply over the last decade. Public opinions are often shaped by news coverage [1] and in particular quality newspapers [2]. The Mail and Guardian newspaper was studied to determine how issues surrounding power generation have been covered. This […]
The French multinational company Quadran International has through its subsidiary Quadran Brasil, placed an order for the 206 MW Serrote wind park to be located at the municipality of Trairí, in the state of Ceará. The contract includes the supply and installation of 49 V150-4,2 MW wind turbines with a 125-meter hub height. The power […]
Vast Solar has built a modular, grid-connected 6 MWth CSP plant with thermal energy storage, at Jemalong, New South Wales, Australia. The plant is designed to achieve high efficiency at low cost. Each of its five, small array-modules concentrate solar radiation on a dedicated thermal receiver tower 27 m in height. The five modules connect […]
Both metallurgical and other industrial plant processes, as well as large drive procedures depend on reliable, highly specialised transformers. In steel plants, for example, it is crucial to supply high currents for AC and DC electric as well as ladle furnaces. Electrolysis processes operate with heavy-duty rectifiers which are fed by rectifier transformers. Large drive […]
Sebenza substation, the city of Johannesburg’s biggest electrical project in a decade, was officially opened by the city’s mayor, Herman Mashaba, recently. In his speech, Mashaba said he was proud to announce that this substation, which will strengthen City Power’s distribution network had been built within budget and on time. This new substation, which is […]
Small-scale power generation plants driven by hydrocarbon sources and biomass are still likely to play a valuable part in rolling out electricity in regions of Africa unserved by grid power and where renewable resources are insufficient to sustain a reliable energy supply. The lack of a secure baseload energy supply in certain areas can be […]
Eskom’s road to sustainability will be long, hard and painful. The power utility is facing severe challenges financially and operationally. The risk of load shedding in the coming months remains fairly high; the cost of keeping the lights on will further impact financial performance; and tough decisions are necessary to achieve full recovery. That’s the […]
Universal electrification becoming a reality Kenya’s Lake Turkana Wind Farm is making the promise of nationwide access to electricity a reality. Electrification rates have reportedly increased from 28% in 2013 to 60% in 2017. The rate is expected to reach 80% by 2020. Lake Turkana Wind Farm is the biggest in Africa, with a generating […]
