Ghaznawi: 1,800 hotel rooms and 9,000 housing units to be made available in Historic Jeddah    Month-long "Wonderland" festival to begin in Jeddah on Monday    Saudi Security forces arrest 20,778 illegal residents in a week    Philippine President signs laws reaffirming maritime rights in South China Sea    Suicide bombing at Pakistan train station kills at least 26, including soldiers and railway staff    Federal and state agencies investigate racist mass text messages targeting Black Americans    Iran denies involvement in assassination plot against US officials, including Trump    Saudi Arabia reaffirms commitment to global cultural collaboration at G20 Culture Ministers' Meeting in Brazil    Riyadh Season 2024 draws 4 million visitors in less than a month    Al Nassr edges past Al Riyadh with Mane's goal to move up to third    Al Ahli continues strong form with 2-0 win over Al Raed in Saudi Pro League    Saudi Pro League: Al Qadsiah extend positive run with 2-0 win over Al Fayha    Al Ittihad defeats Al Orobah 2-0 in Saudi Pro League    Piercing Arrow 2024: Saudi Armed Forces participate in joint exercise in Egypt    Royal Commission lifts restrictions on land transactions in northern Riyadh    Three charged in connection with Liam Payne's death    Uproar in Ghana after president unveils his own statue    Dubai Design Week launches its 10th edition, celebrating creativity and innovation    HRT does not impact life expectancy — UK health body    Liam Payne's body to be flown back to the UK    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Muted Eid celebrations for millions of Nigerian Muslims    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Coal, gas or nuclear? S. Africa must decide now
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 17 - 03 - 2014


Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo
JOHANNESBURG — On paper, South Africa's long-term energy plans look solid, with coal, nuclear, gas and renewables all viable options. But none are likely to prevent potentially crippling future power crunches in Africa's biggest economy unless a decision is made soon on when and how to add capacity to the grid.
South Africa's failure to invest in new power plants nearly two decades ago meant it paid dearly in 2008 when the grid nearly collapsed, leading to power cuts that cost the economy billions of rand in lost output and dented investor confidence.
State-owned power utility Eskom is scrambling to finish new power plants, including Medupi and Kusile, massive coal-fired outfits with a combined capacity of about 9,500 megawatts (MW).
But they are still several years away from completion, and in the interim Eskom will be battling to keep the lights on, nursing its fleet of aging generating units and hoping breakdowns do not reduce reserve margins to critical levels.
The utility has declared four power “emergencies” since November and earlier this month imposed rolling blackouts, known locally as “load shedding,” for the first time in six years.
Although they lasted only a day, the blackouts came at a bad time for President Jacob Zuma and his governing African National Congress two months before a national election. The ANC is expected to win but its majority is likely to be reduced by public anger over corruption scandals and deficient delivery of public services in many poor black townships.
The worst is not over, says Eskom, which provides 95 percent of South Africa's electricity and has a total generation capacity of 42,000 MW. This is slightly less than Turkey but almost 10 times more than Nigeria, sub-saharan Africa's second biggest economy and top oil producer.
Although South Africa's infrastructure is generally the envy of Africa, at the moment nearly a quarter of its power generation capacity is out of action, mainly for maintenance.
The first power from Medupi, about 800 MW, is expected in the second half of this year. Eskom admits this will not prevent more blackouts should the system come under further strain.Any event leading to a loss of more than 1,500 MW could have a significant impact on the grid, Eskom said.
Eskom Chief Executive Brian Dames said South Africa was still feeling the repercussions of the ANC government's decision not to build new plants when asked by the utility to do so in 1998. Construction of Medupi only started in 2007 and has been plagued by delays related to design flaws and labor unrest. “It will take 10 years to fix the 1998 problem,” said Dames, who steps down at the end of this month.
In its 20-year Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), running up to 2030, the government says coal, nuclear, hydro, shale gas and renewable energy are all options to beef up power supply. And after the 2008 debacle, the government realizes it could pay a heavy price if it does not decide in time on the next phase of power construction when Medupi and Kusile are complete. “We are working around the clock to arrive at decisions quickly,” Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said.
The IRP is revised every two years, the latest revision being last year. Cabinet has yet to approve the updated plan which proposes a delay in construction of more nuclear power plants and a focus instead on coal, hydro and gas.
Eskom's problems are compounded by increasing maintenance needs at its decades-old plants, and unplanned outages. It also faces challenges relating to the quality of coal fed into its power stations. The recent blackouts were imposed after torrential rain soaked coal stockpiles and the coal could not be fed properly into the system.
“I don't think there is nearly enough attention being given to the supply of coal for Eskom. That's an area government needs to do more work on,” said Mike Rossouw, chairman of the Energy Intensive Users Group, which represents heavy power users such as mines and factories.
Eskom's coal stockpiles are mostly kept in the open, in part because of the high cost of storage, and so are prone to damage from heavy rain. Storage bunkers are available but not enough to protect all the coal and the problem is compounded by most of Eskom's supply coming from exposed open-pit mines.
Eskom generates most of its electricity from coal-fired plants but also has one nuclear plant, gas turbines, hydro-electric and wind facilities. Coal is likely to remain the main feed stock for base-load power, given that South Africa is a major producer and exporter of coal. To diversify its energy sources and reduce its reliance on coal plants, South Africa started three years ago to procure renewable power from independent producers.
To date, the government has signed off on 64 renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 3,850 MW. Eskom said 19 projects had been connected to the grid to date. Analysts say more needs to be done to allow private players in - and not just for renewable energy, which is struggling to produce power at rates Eskom deems competitive with coal.
“The industry is by far not deregulated enough. We need to have more participants in base-load generation in South Africa,” said Cornelis van der Waal, an energy analyst at consultancy Frost & Sullivan. “Whether that base load is coal, nuclear, gas or hydro, let's leave that to the industry to decide who can supply the most reliable electricity at the best rate.” — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.