Eskom synchronises final unit at Ingula

[Kevin Lancaster]

Eskom synchronises final unit at Ingula

Eskom on Saturday synchronised Unit 3 of the Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme.

 

[akescpt]

are we even using all the power we are currently generating? unless there is another industrial revolution that increases our need for power by doubling it WTF do we even need nuclear power? not even going into corruption, etc. just the power aspect. will we ever need all of it?

 

[Ho3n3r]

are we even using all the power we are currently generating? unless there is another industrial revolution that increases our need for power by doubling it WTF do we even need nuclear power? not even going into corruption, etc. just the power aspect. will we ever need all of it?

At the rate the country's population is increasing, definitely. Then again, at the rate which the ANC is plundering our economy, and losing instead of creating jobs, you may be on to something.

 

[akescpt]

At the rate the country's population is increasing, definitely. Then again, at the rate which the ANC is plundering our economy, and losing instead of creating jobs, you may be on to something.

i thought industry was using less. wont they be the major user?

 

[itareanlnotani]

Large users are mostly mining, and they've been heavily downsizing, and investing into renewables and storage to lower their load.
Smelters are not profitable here anymore at current Eskom rates, so expect those to vanish once their contracts for cheap electricity run out a la Richards Bay.

Residential load is mostly heating - that can be reduced by an easy 30% just by promoting solar heating, and gas cooking.

LED lighting will also reduce usage once more muni's roll that out. Street lighting is a major power user, and LED lighting can reduce that to about <10% of original power usage.

Pool pumps can be moved to variable speed pumps at owners cost - this is a fairly straightforward proposition for most pool owners if you compare electricity cost savings on a variable pump. Solar PV is also rather good for that too.

Solar PV is being rolled out as fast as possible on a corporate level, as its cheaper than buying from Eskom, so daytime use is dropping also.

We don't need Nuclear, but we do need more storage to flatten out non-dispatchable power curves.

 

[LazyLion]

We will definitely need the Nuclear in 10 or 15 years otherwise we will be sitting with the same problem again...

I just don't think we can trust this government to implement Nuclear in a safe or cost effective manner... that is the real problem.

 

[Skerminkel]

... we do need more storage to flatten out non-dispatchable power curves.

And therefore Ingula.

 

[Johnatan56]

Carte Blanche took down the Ingula video, this is a video which references it as facts though:
[video=youtube;2nNUgdqPdzM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nNUgdqPdzM[/video]

And http://www.702.co.za/articles/16022...m-s-ingula-says-carte-blanche-is-disingenuous

Eskom CEO Brian Molefe has accused Carte Blanche of being disingenuous in a report alleging that Eskom exceeded their budget on Ingula plant by more than R27 billion.

The report also alleged that more than double was paid towards the Kwa-Zulu Natal hydro-power contract.

 

[Skerminkel]

Carte Blanche took down the Ingula video, this is a video which references it as facts though:
...

Fantastic plant. The design and construction was world class. Eskom just screwed themselves royally by managing the project themselves. Eskom is a generating and distribution company, not a power station developer. (And actually they should not be in both generation and bulk distribution either!)

 

[Johnatan56]

Fantastic plant. The design and construction was world class. Eskom just screwed themselves royally by managing the project themselves. Eskom is a generating and distribution company, not a power station developer. (And actually they should not be in both generation and bulk distribution either!)

Many plants went along the lines of contractors claiming for:

- damaged equipment
- employees not showing up to work
- that issue where people died due to failed procedures, company claimed from government
- delays
- bonuses even though none of the performance targets were met
etc.

 

[thestaggy]

are we even using all the power we are currently generating? unless there is another industrial revolution that increases our need for power by doubling it WTF do we even need nuclear power? not even going into corruption, etc. just the power aspect. will we ever need all of it?

Considering what we've been through in the past 5/6-years, I am all for more power. Rather have room to work with and then sell what we don't use.

It is just unfortunate that further generating capacity comes with a cloud of corruption hanging overheard.

 

[noxibox]

are we even using all the power we are currently generating? unless there is another industrial revolution that increases our need for power by doubling it WTF do we even need nuclear power?

You don't build major infrastructure for now. You do it for what you might need, so that when the day comes you have it available.

 

[Chris.Geerdts]

You don't build major infrastructure for now. You do it for what you might need, so that when the day comes you have it available.

Yes. You plan for a 30 year odd life of the plant (at least). I don't think we'll ever recover those cost over-runs though. They are ruinous to the economy.

I'm glad we do have a few pumped storage schemes to offset solar and replace gas and diesel turbines. 1.3GW is also a good number for staving off load shedding if we have more sudden failures of large coal plants.

 

[Dlamaqhinga]

What is the plan of decommissioning the old coal power stations?

 

[Johnatan56]

What is the plan of decommissioning the old coal power stations?

As in when? Next two in line according to wikipedia:
Camden 2020 (1,561MW)
Hendrina 2021 (1,893MW)

Medupi has to be completed by then, unless all the smelters leave due to the expensive electricity cost.