Design modifications at Medupi and Kusile: progress and problems

[rpm]

Design modifications at Medupi and Kusile: progress and problems

Much has been written about the cost and time overruns at Eskom’s flagship new-build mega-projects – the Medupi and Kusile coal-fired power stations in South Africa. This article focusses on the boiler plant design defects and the status of rectification work currently in progress.

 

[Gordon_R]

Interesting article, worth reading. Lots of useful upgrades done, but unfortunately the reliability has not improved significantly. Performance falls far short of what is expected for recently installed power plants.

IMO very disappointing, and pretty much a total waste of investment of time and money to construct these white elephants...

 

[Martin_P]

Good article, didn't the ANC have shares in Hetachi power systems just before the tenders for Kusile and Medupi.

 

[Kodi]

Should change the names to Laurel and Hardy power stations.

 

[Ancalagon]

Proudly brought to you by BEE!

 

[Bewlen]

ANC cant even build a power station in 10 years, but they are running the entire country.

We are so f*****.

 

[Kodi]

Those RET yelling members are always conspicuously silent in threads like this.

 

[RonSwanson]

Good article, didn't the ANC have shares in Hetachi power systems just before the tenders for Kusile and Medupi.

That's true , Chancellor House (the ANC's investment wing) held shares in Hitachi, profited enormously and disposed of them when things got too hot.

Chancellor House made 5000% return on Hitachi deal | Business

After helping Hitachi secure Eskom tenders, the US SEC documents also show how the ANC's investment arm Chancellor House made a 5 000% return on its investment.

www.news24.com

 

[RonSwanson]

Proudly brought to you by BEE!

True that, South African taxpayers wondering where all the money went to, it went to black people in the ANC.

 

[quovadis]

Almost half a trillion for 2 power stations ...

 

[sand_man]

... That don't run optimally...

 

[REAList_1]

And Eskom’s best kept secret ...
Kusile, although it is sitting inside a coal field, has no big mine supplying it.
Anglo Coal wasted years trying to design an opencast mine for it.
Obviously now supplied with trucks on highway. Cadres must be making a killing. Wait for the truck congestion once all the units is up and running.
I can’t wait to see what 1000 trucks per day will look like passing through Witbank.
And not one white boss was flapping his lips about this issue when giving feedback.

 

[r00igev@@r]

Mitsubishi and Hitachi are bastard agents. Sold a flawed product. Pay back the money.

 

[The Trutherizer]

Almost half a trillion for 2 power stations ...

The direct cost per kilowatt is somewhere north of R80 000/kW even conservatively estimated from building cost alone. And it's coal power... There are implicit costs down the line. Obviously... The coal. Consider Eskom's recent bid to sign a R66bn contract renewal for coal supplied to just one of its 2GW power stations. But, also environmental. Factor in the secondary economic fallout from the non-performance alone... Millions per kW.

On the other hand, right now, anybody can buy 5KW of solar panels along with around 5kWh of Li-Ion battery storage, inverters the lot - For around R70 000 (Including all installation costs, warrantees, guarantees and certificates). Rooftop. The kilowatts... They are X5! (So... R14 000/kW, including storage)

A real comedy of errors. It basically means that Eskom could rather just have bought a million such packages. It would have only cost them R70bn, and they would have more power, including storage.

 

[Moto Guzzi]

Design modifications at Medupi and Kusile: progress and problems

Much has been written about the cost and time overruns at Eskom’s flagship new-build mega-projects – the Medupi and Kusile coal-fired power stations in South Africa. This article focusses on the boiler plant design defects and the status of rectification work currently in progress.

So if this could not be done properly in a modern claimed digital age, how would renewables any different, and worse scattered all over the world in a non centralised fashion-?

 

[Ancalagon]

So if this could not be done properly in a modern claimed digital age, how would renewables any different, and worse scattered all over the world in a non centralised fashion-?

It could be done properly in a digital age, if it were done by competent people. But it was done by people appointed solely on the basis of their BEE credentials, and that is why it is a disaster.

Not saying you are wrong about renewables by the way, just pointing out WHY these power stations are a f'up.

 

[Gordon_R]

And Eskom’s best kept secret ...
Kusile, although it is sitting inside a coal field, has no big mine supplying it.
Anglo Coal wasted years trying to design an opencast mine for it.
Obviously now supplied with trucks on highway. Cadres must be making a killing. Wait for the truck congestion once all the units is up and running.
I can’t wait to see what 1000 trucks per day will look like passing through Witbank.
And not one white boss was flapping his lips about this issue when giving feedback.

Some context and maps of the coal mines and power stations and transport issues:

Power stations truck up Eskom’s image

Despite the exorbitant costs of new facilities, they are not delivering on expectations

mg.co.za

 

[pinball wizard]

And Eskom’s best kept secret ...
Kusile, although it is sitting inside a coal field, has no big mine supplying it.
Anglo Coal wasted years trying to design an opencast mine for it.
Obviously now supplied with trucks on highway. Cadres must be making a killing. Wait for the truck congestion once all the units is up and running.
I can’t wait to see what 1000 trucks per day will look like passing through Witbank.
And not one white boss was flapping his lips about this issue when giving feedback.

I thought eskom's secret was burning rocks not coal.