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Spotlight on small generators
by Mike Rycroft, editor
 Small power generators and IPPs have come into the spotlight with the announcement by Eskom that own-generation will be included in the IDM program, and by the DOE of the REIPP for small generators. It would appear that the small operator is finally being recognised, and the market for small generation is expected to take off as a result... ( more) |
Eskom's performance - the ups and the downsby Chris Yelland, director, EE Publishers
 Eskom's annual financial results for the financial year ending 31 March 2012 were announced on 14 June. Eskom is a state owned enterprise, wholly owned by the South African government. Eskom chief executive Brian Dames and financial director Paul O'Flaherty appear to be growing in confidence and stature, with an excellent understanding of the challenges ahead.... ( more) |
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Critical electrical protection devices found to be counterfeits
by Chris Yelland, investigative editor, EE Publishers
CBI-electric, the only manufacturer of miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) and earth leakage protection units (ELPUs) in Africa, has reported that counterfeit copies of its electrical products are being manufactured in China and imported into South Africa... ( more) |
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The Jacob Marley column: How to write an annual report
Sir: I offer these tips because a slew of annual reports from across the industry have made their appearance, and your erudite readers might, when perusing these tomes of information, like to have at their fingertips some analytical tools with which to delve into the often dense material to separate fact from fiction... ( more) |
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Small projects renewable energy IPP procurement programme
Information from Dept of Energy
South Africa has a high level of renewable energy potential, and presently has in place a target of 10 000 GWh of renewable energy. The minister has determined that 3725 MW to be generated from renewable energy sources is required to ensure the continued uninterrupted supply of electricity... (more)
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Ammonia - a fuel for the future? Part 2
by C M Meyer
Today, hydrogen is being promoted as the fuel of the future. Experimental cars and vehicles that run on hydrogen have already been made, and filling stations to refuel them built near Los Angeles in the American state of California. But hydrogen is also known in the USA as the fuel that destroyed the space shuttle Challenger... ( more)
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Improvements in transformer protection and control
by Armando Guzmán, Normann Fischer and Casper Labuschagne, SEL
This paper describes protection elements that detect transformer faults quickly and avoid unnecessary transformer disconnections, and introduces a differential element that combines the security and dependability of harmonic restraint with the speed of harmonic blocking to optimise relay performance... ( more)
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Storage required for success of solar power industry
Information from GlobalData
More research is desperately needed to discover new ways of harnessing the sun's power, as solar energy storage promises to revolutionize renewables in the modern world, says a new report by energy experts GlobalData... ( more) |
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Power on tap from variable speed pumped water storage scheme
by Steve Auber, ABB
The latest developments in power electronics and machine technologies open a new trend for large hydro pumped storage applications. Pumped storage power plants (PSPP) with variable speed units offer several advantages compared to the conventional fixed speed solutions... ( more) |
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Proposed smart grid stakeholder engagement approach
Information from South African Energy Development Institute (SANEDI)
The purpose of this document is to present a model which could facilitate, co-ordinate and integrate the Smart Grid related activities in South Africa. The electricity supply industry in South Africa is confronted with many challenges... (more)
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Locating cable faults on wind farms
by Tom Sandri, Protec Equipment Resources
Locating cable faults on wind farms often requires the use of several different techniques and, even then, because of the wide range of wiring structures used on wind farms, fault location is often far from straightforward... (more)
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Direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC)?
Information from Siemens SA
Industrialist George Westinghouse and inventor Nikola Tesla wanted to use AC to transport electric energy, while Thomas Edison was a vigorous proponent of Dc. But his efforts were in vain: Edison's opponents prevailed, and alternating current grids have dominated the transmission of electric energy worldwide ever since... (more)
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Energy savings - a strategy in utilities
by Evan Dent, Endress+Hauser SA
This paper looks at energy savings potentials in utilities in industrial processes. It presents a monitoring and targeting strategy proposal that will assist in realising sustainable energy savings in key energy user utilities in processes... (more)
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Energy savings on motor driven systems
by Fanie Steyn, ABB
The energy saving potential in motor-driven applications is enormous: electric motors across all sectors account for some 67% of the world's industrial energy use... (more)
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Take greening beyond the data centre with intelligent management solutions
by Robert Brand, Drive Control Corporation
Reducing energy consumption and working towards greener business has become progressively more important in light of changing regulations, public pressure and ever-increasing utility costs... (more)
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IGBTs in reverse gear
by Stefan Schuler and André Müller, Semikron
State-of-the-art power semiconductors are intended to switch quickly in order to reduce dynamic losses. Once an IGBT turns off, the load current commutates to the freewheeling diode. To avoid undesirable side-effects, these two semiconductors have be very well matched in terms of their electrical properties... (more)
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Interview with Thomas Schaal, I-WEC
by Mike Rycroft, editor
The initiative to create a local manufacturer of wind turbines was born in 2008 during a tender briefing at Eskom about the setup of a 100 MW wind farm. After the tender meeting my partner and I further discussed the option to at least manufacture components for large scale wind turbines in South Africa... (more)
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Small and micro-hydro developments in Southern Africa
by Wim Jonker Klunne, CSIR
Approximately 10% of the global hydropower potential is located on the African continent, with the majority of that in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, only a low 4 to 7% of this potential has been developed... (more)
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Pre-feasibility study of wave energy in Saldanha and Western Cape
Information from Oelsner
This paper presents a pre-feasibility report for the development of a wave power conversion system, the Stellenbosch Wave Energy Converter (SWEC), that is ideally suited for local conditions at the community of Saldanha in the Western Cape province of South Africa... (more)
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Integrated demand management: small-scale renewable energy systems
Information from Eskom
Eskom IDM is continually extending its portfolio of funding mechanisms and the range of efficiency technologies that is supported to make energy efficient products more readily available to South Africans... (more)
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