E-Newsletter for the Power & Energy Sectors of Southern Africa
Issue 99, June 2016
Can we afford new "carbon free" power stations?
by Mike Rycroft, EE Publishers
The focus on the cost of new power stations was brought to the fore following a talk by a well-known and well respected economist at a recent conference. The core issue here is the... (more)
Is Eskom changing the goalposts and rules of the game at half-time?
by Aimèe Clarke, EE Publishers
For the third time since awarding a R5-billion tender to Areva in 12 August 2014, Eskom found itself defending its award decision - this time in the highest court of the land... (more)
Eskom and Westinghouse respond to article in Energize and other publications
by Matshela Koko, Eskom, and Mark Marano, Westinghouse
The following written responses have been received by EE Publishers from Eskom and Westinghouse to an article on the awaited judgement of the Constitutional Court of South Africa in respect of a R5-billion contract between Eskom and... (more)
Energy ratings vs. energy performance
by Karel Steyn, SAEE
Energy efficiency ratings, appliance labelling and various other energy bench-marking systems vs. energy efficiency performance. Is there a difference, what does it mean and... (more)
Renewable energy contributes positively to electricity supply, economic development
by Moeketsi Thobela, SAPVIA
SAPVIA has read with concern a recent media report [1], attributed to Eskom's CEO Brian Molefe, about the performance of renewable energy plants in South Africa. If the... (more)
Implementing a solar plant dashboard for reduced O&M costs
by Lior Handelsman, SolarEdge Technologies
Would the average consumer invest in the stock market without real-time insight into financial performance? Not a chance. We live in a world that craves information, preferably easily accessible and digestible information, especially when it pertains to a... (more)
What can FPGAs do for a renewable energy system?
by Raviteja Chivukula, National Instruments
In typical renewable energy systems (RES) functionalities such as power conversion control and monitoring are implemented on custom-built embedded boards. This is done using microcontrollers/digital signal processors (DSPs) that... (more)
Inspecting solar cells: high-contrast checks for maximum yield
Information from ISRA Vision
Passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) cells, currently regarded as being the most economical solar cell design, can now be individually inspected with the highest contrast. A new inspection system meets the challenge of inspecting the cell's... (more)
Cybersecurity information sharing in electric utilities
by Ramesh Reddi, Smart Grid Interoperability Panel
Cyber threat sharing will play a major role in the electric utility industry in protecting our critical infrastructure. Some utilities in the United States believe there is a need to share the cyber threat information so that they will be better prepared to.. (more)
End of life estimation of HV switchgear and GIS substations
Information from Cigré
Efficiency is an important factor for power system operators. Hence, condition and lifetime considerations as well as an understanding of the value of preventive maintenance are important issues in this respect. This article discusses new methods and tools to... (more)
High performance conductors improve grid capacity, efficiency
by Dave Bryant, CTC Global
Access to affordable and reliable electricity is paramount to building stable and healthy economies. Without it we would be unable to pump water to grow crops, build products to compete in a global economy, or provide basic services to a growing population... (more)
Lifetime extension of Hungarian nuclear power plant
by Mike Rycroft, EE Publishers
Modern nuclear power plants (NPP) have a design lifetime in the order of 60 years under normal operating conditions. Earlier generation-three plants had a design life of 30 to 35 years, and much of the plant is reaching this age. Studies of plant safety... (more)
Neutrons explain ageing process in Li-ion batteries
Information from Technical University of Munich
A key issue with lithium ion batteries is ageing, which significantly reduces the cell's potential storage capacity. To date, very little is known about the causes of the ageing effects. Scientists from the department of technical electrochemistry and the... (more)
Privately owned peaking power station nears completion
by Roger Lilley, EE Publishers
As South Africa heads into winter, the Department of Energy's (DoE's) thermal power plants may need some extra help to provide the country with sufficient electricity, especially during the evening peak. Consequently, under licence to the DoE... (more)
Using new computing technology to improve building energy management
by Mike Rycroft, features editor, EE Publishers
Building management systems have proved their value in saving energy. There is a large amount of data available which is often not used because of analysis and processing limitations. Multi-unit sites can generate a huge amount of data, which is difficult... (more)
Causing a stir in electric arc furnaces
Information from ABB
ABB has introduced a new generation of electromagnetic stirrer (EMS) for electric arc furnaces (EAFs) that helps to improve safety, increase productivity and reduce costs. The device, called ArcSave, reduces the tapping temperature and tapping oxygen... (more)
Improving performance of rotating machines
by Harald Großmann, Sulzer
The high density of rotating equipment used in refineries means that effective asset management of pumps, turbines, compressors, motors and generators, can play a vital role in maintaining plant up-time and achieving overall equipment effectiveness... (more)
