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Some perspectives on getting the electricity industry back in business
by Piet van Staden, Energy Intensive Users Group
While Eskom is struggling to keep the lights on and all electricity stakeholders are familiar with the challenges around coal supplies, schedule delays at Medupi and Kusile, and unprecedented levels of breakdowns on Eskom's ageing fleet, there is a debate getting lost in the noise on where the industry is supposed to be heading... ( more)
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Information from Department of Energy
The Minister of Energy, Dikobe Ben Martins, has announced various infrastructure programmes. They are to be introduced by the Department of Energy (DoE) to strengthen the energy sector by increasing the uptake of new generation technologies including cogeneration and a revised model for the solar water heaters programme. The DoE also seeks ways to reduce dependence on the electricity grid... (more)
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How electricity could unite Africa
by Dirk de Vos, QED Solutions
 Electricity supply constraints are a significant hurdle to future growth, but a regional approach using market mechanisms will go a long way to addressing electricity shortfalls and to reduce expenditure on wasteful projects, to the benefit of electricity consumers and economies in the whole region. Despite all the efforts, Africa's quest for unity has never really got off the ground... ( more)
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Alstom, the French company involved in two large SA projects, is the subject of rival takeover bids by industrial giants Siemens and GE, both of which have made massive offers for the firm's power business. One wonders what the effect would be if GE, rather than Siemens, were to purchase Alstom's power business, and how such a change could affect the completion of Medupi and Kusile... (more)
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This month's letters deal with the importance of a variety of generation sources all adding to the overall energy supply; appreciation for the opinions and suggestions made in the previous month's lead editorial; and a reader's view regarding the cost of nuclear... (more)
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- Botswana develops coal-fired generation
- Ethiopia's new wind farm
- Ghana electrifies rural areas
- Kenya cuts power tariffs
- Mano River Union upgrades
- Mozambique builds coalfired plant
- Nigeria to get 30% of electricity from coal
- West Africa promotes clean energy... (more)
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The potential of small hydro power plants in southern Africa
by Mike Rycroft, features editor, EE Publishers
It is estimated that only 24% of the hydro potential in Africa is developed compared to 86,8% in Europe. Most attention in Africa is focused on the various larger projects such as Inga. These will take time to develop, but in the meantime there are a number of smaller hydro plants in progress in Southern Africa... (more) |
Magnetically controlled shunt reactors - a new type of FACTS device
Information from Afritek
The need for more efficient electricity systems management has given rise to innovative technologies in power generation and transmission. Transmission systems must be flexible to react to more diverse generation and load patterns... ( more)
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by Mike Rycroft, features editor, EE Publishers
Smart metering, we have been told, not only allows the electricity utility to read the meter remotely, but can allow customers to monitor and control energy consumption and keep their own records of electricity usage. The reality, however, appears to be somewhat less appealing... ( more)
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Secure, interoperable functionality for power line carrier based infrastructures
Information from Elster Solutions
Power line carrier (PLC) based systems are proving an attractive and cost-effective solution for smart metering deployments in the residential domain. In Europe, PLC solutions have already been implemented widely in some countries, while others are at an advanced stage of planning for large-scale roll-out... ( more) |
Small scale on-grid PV embedded generation
by Paul Tuson, PrEng
The IRP 2010-30 update states that 9770 MW of solar PVcapacity is planned for SA by 2030. Embedded generation of residential and commercial PV could reach 22,5 GW by 2030. Even if this estimate is partially correct, this points to a significant level of installed small-scale solar PV embedded generation capacity in SA by 2030... ( more) |
Modern building management systems tackle efficiency of energy, utilisation
by Mike Rycroft, features editor, EE Publishers
Buildings must keep pace with today's fast-paced business world. The widespread adoption of information and communication technology, including computerised building management systems, reflects this trend. But implementing new technology is not enough... ( more) |
Improving power quality in real-life applications
Information from Impact Energy
Poor power quality is one of the principal reasons for inefficient power usage and electrical equipment failure. Addressing power quality requires sophisticated equipment. The following two case studies demonstrate how power quality issues were addressed... ( more)
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