Energize RE special issue                 Vol. 3 
Renewable energy: REIPPP projects, utility RE systems, private RE systems, and storage
e-Newsletter for the power and energy sectors of southern Africa  July 2015
Renewable energy sector delivers against promises
by Mike Rycroft, editor

 

Mike Rycroft Finalisation of bid window 4 of the REIPPP programme marks the end of the first determination of the governments renewable energy independent power producers purchase programme. The programme has been immensely successful in meeting the government's goals and has proved the capability of independent power producers to deliver against expectations. In addition, the private... (more)

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REIPPPP developers and project details
  • Bid Window 1 with a total capacity of 1415,5 MW (more)
  • Bid Window 2 with a total capacity of 1040,42 MW (more)
  • Bid Window 3 with a total capacity of 1456 MW (more)
  • Bid Window 3.5 with a total capacity of 200 MW (more)
  • Bid Window 4 with a total capacity of 1096 MW (more)
An overview of the renewable energy independent power producers procurement programme 
by Deon Fourie, Lolette Kritzinger-van Niekerk and Marilize Nel, DoE IPP Office

 

The renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme (REIPPPP) has been established to enhance South Africa's power generation capacity, reduce the country's reliance on fossil feuls, stimulate an indigenous renewable energy industry and contribute to socio-economic development and... (more)

Renewable energy and birds: myths, misconceptions and many questions 
by Samantha Ralston, Birdlife South Africa

 

It is a confusing time to be an environmentalist. Climate change is no longer a fringe-concept; something future generations might need to deal with. The intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) has confi rmed that the effects of climate change are already occurring. Throughout the world, people, societies, ecosystems and... (more)

Renewable energy development zones (REDZ) 
by Mike Rycroft, editor

 

Selection of sites for the first projects in the REIPPP programme was the responsibility of the bidders; and environmental, grid connection and socio-economic assessments done after the first round of bidding were the responsibility of the project developer. This resulted in duplication of effort for macro or wide area factors common... (more)


Transmission network integration of renewable energy in South Africa 
by Dr. Clinton Carter-Brown, Department of Energy IPP Office; Ronald Marais, Kevin Leask, Eskom; Deon Vrey and Rabagolo Melesi, Aurecon

 

The procurement of energy from independent power producers (IPPs) in South Africa is being implemented in alignment with the national development plan (NDP), integrated resource plan (IRP) and ministerial Determinations. IPP procurement requires that the generated power be fed into the national electricity grid... (more)

Grid connection of renewable energy IPPs: lessons learned
by Riaan Smit, Eskom

The department of energy worked on REIPPP programme bid window 4 (BW4) since August 2014, and the announcement of the preferred bidders was made on 16 April 2015. This article will cover the lessons learnt during bid window 4 and also addresses the grid capacity and associated competition arising from this bid... (more)
Solar park plant controller design and implementation within a South African context
by Philip Homann and Fareed Ismail, CONCO Energy Solutions

During window 1 of the REIPPP programme, the general misconception was that there were no requirements from a national grid code (NGC) connection perspective. This however changed with the release of version 2.6 of the South African national grid connection code, and operators found that they were not allowed to... (more)
Smart-grid technologies for automation and control in a grid connected wind energy facility in SA
by Sagar Dayabhai, CONCO and Peter Diamandis, Quad Computer Systems

This article presents an automation and control solution that was implemented at a wind energy facility (WEF) in South Africa to manage both the electrical and power plant infrastructure. The discussion centres around the smart-grid enabling technologies which were employed to implement the architecture required to... (more)
Integration of distributed energy resources in electric power systems 
by Alexander Apostolov, Omicron

Distributed generators are becoming a major part of the drive towards a cleaner environment, and are being connected at all different levels of the electric power system. In many cases the systems export power to the electric power system, and they need to be integrated into protection, automation and control systems. IEC 61850... (more)
How to increase PV plant output and efficiency with solar trackers 
by Robert Timmis, Exosun

Maximising return on investment is the primary goal for utility-scale solar plant owners and developers. Achieving this objective requires a combination of careful planning, smart design and strong components selection. While optimising balance of systems for these plants is a major concern, the focus typically centres on... (more)
Thin film PV modules offer over 4% more energy than silicon PV in South Africa
Information from First Solar

Independent research into the performance of four solar photovoltaic (PV) module technologies in South Africa has confirmed that First Solar's thin film modules can offer over 4% more energy than conventional silicon PV panels. The study was conducted by Arup, an independent engineering consultancy, and was... (more)
The sun shines, but not always...
by Cleverson Takiguchi, S&C Electric

Solar power development in Africa has until now been predominantly concentrated in the North African region, largely due to its export potential. With encouraging recent examples in the south, east and the west, solar energy has gained more and more participation in the generation mix in Africa. Solar potential stretches far beyond... (more)
Electrical energy storage to make wind and solar PV resources disptatchable
by Jarrad Wright, Energy Exemplar (Africa)

The transition to a lower carbon emissions path has driven signifi cant investments in alternative renewable sources of electrical energy with particular focus on solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind technologies. The typical argument against these technologies relates to their variability and unpredictability and management thereof... (more)
Applicability of solar PV for rooftops
by James Shirley, Schneider Electric

There is a lot of talk about whether to put "this solar thing" on rooftops. Often, however, the full impact of such an intervention is not understood, and so the differences between the solar options should first be clarified. Solar thermal applications are energy saving (reduction of electricity consumption) where radiation is... (more)
Rooftop solar and own generation takes off in SA
by Carel Ballack, PQRS

Most of the public attention to date has been focussed on utility scale PV installations constructed under the REIPPP programme, but privately planned and financed own generation PV systems have shown a sustained and increasing growth in parallel with the government programme. The reasons for this for this are many... (more)
Solar power hybrid systems invade the urban space
by Mike Rycroft, editor

The solar renewable energy systems market, which was primarily focussed on single technologies, is seeing an increasing number of hybrid systems, based on combinations of solar PV and other renewable and non-renewable technologies. Most of the development has been on large off-grid remote site systems, usually... (more)
Product news

 

In this issue...
- Renewable energy sector delivers against promises
- Renewable energy sector delivers against promises
- REIPPPP developers and project details
- An overview of the renewable energy independent power producers procurement programme
- Renewable energy and birds: Myths, misconceptions and many questions
- Renewable energy development zones (REDZ)
- Transmission network integration of renewable
- Grid connection of renewable energy IPPs: lessons learned
- Solar park plant controller design and implementation
- Smart-grid technologies for automation and control in a grid connected wind energy facility in SA
- Integration of distributed energy resources in electric power systems
- How to increase PV plant output and efficiency
- Thin film PV modules offer over 4% more energy
- The sun shines, but not always...
- Electrical energy storage to make wind and solar PV resources disptatchable
- Applicability of solar PV for rooftops
- Rooftop solar and own generation takes off in SA
- Solar power hybrid systems invade the urban space
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