How will SA keep the lights on?

Where should SA focus their efforts?

  • Renewables (wind/solar/hydro)

    Votes: 128 49.0%

  • Nuclear

    Votes: 49 18.8%

  • Fossil fuels

    Votes: 14 5.4%

  • A combination of the above

    Votes: 70 26.8%

  • Other

    Votes: 45 17.2%
  • Total voters
    261
Geoff.D said:
The lessons from the EU and other regions says it should be a combination strategy.
However, the single most important factor long term is to get rid of the A N C.
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During the day solar is great, when there is wind it's great, but when those 2 are lacking it's not so great. There are some here who would make you believe this is fine, that's what peaking plants are for, to cover that, but that just adds to the cost, even CCGTs aren't that cheap.
Rather a combo of a decent stable base and the renewables to take the load during the day and allow the base to take the load at night and early morning during peaks.
Or what I'm surprised is that the bigger companies haven't started migrating themselves off of Eskom, I know Sasol has 2 of it's own power plants.
 
Sort out the legislation blocking private generation feeding into the grid. Split off distribution from Eskom entirely so the vested interest Eskom has in making other power producers fail goes away. That is all you need. Eskom can focus on whatever they like at that point. The private sector will laugh and laugh and laugh as they do it 10 times more efficiently with a fraction of the headcount.
 
Ideal world and reality , two different things .
The realty is the ANC is going to mess it up no matter what .
Look to your independence as much as possible from the state , solar and water tanks .
 
FNfal said:
Ideal world and reality , two different things .
The realty is the ANC is going to mess it up no matter what .
Look to your independence as much as possible from the state , solar and water tanks .
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The ANC hasn't gotten anything right, besides their own pockets.
 
Lupus said:
The ANC hasn't gotten anything right, besides their own pockets.
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They're trying to change a bit, their image anyway, and I don't think just due to the short term vote - they know they're damaged.

Don't get me wrong - have zero faith in them, but at least for now some issues are getting attention. Like the 2500+ potholes just fixed in Jo'burg... yay.

So maybe they can just be cornered into sorting out Eskum right now. Could last a couple of years...
 
FNfal said:
Ideal world and reality , two different things .
The realty is the ANC is going to mess it up no matter what .
Look to your independence as much as possible from the state , solar and water tanks .
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this,
ANC cant even run something simple like a Spaza shop, yet alone anything even remotely complex.

although, having said that,
the Chinese could bribe our officials enough, to allow them to operate a plant, and pocket the profits quite easily.
China loves doing this in poor dumb Africa,
 
Brian_G said:
They're trying to change a bit, their image anyway, and I don't think just due to the short term vote - they know they're damaged.

Don't get me wrong - have zero faith in them, but at least for now some issues are getting attention. Like the 2500+ potholes just fixed in Jo'burg... yay.

So maybe they can just be cornered into sorting out Eskum right now. Could last a couple of years...
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What gets to me is that City Power claimed the reason they had the 4 hour roster for load shedding was because they had to sort out switching on. Only to find out that in the last 15 or so years they still didn't have remote switch on or monitoring in the majority of their sub stations, which is why they needed the four hour windows. Because the muppets instead of upgrading things and sorting it out, would rather use manual labour to go physically switch things on.
Explains why a tripped switch can take 4 hours to fix in JHB, also those 2500 seemed to be in ANC wards only, I had to drive down near Panaroma school the other night to get home for assist my standby engineer and almost got swallowed whole by some of those potholes.
 
dualmeister said:
Renewables. At least not one can overcharge them on supplying sunshine.

Don't give them an excuse to work out a deal with their Russian commie friends for nuclear power.
Also given their sterling record of maintenance, the last thing new want are more nuclear plants ....
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The problem with renewables in SA is that we will still be forced to pay for Eskom. The more people move to solar the more we all will pay for the "grid levee" that is already in place. Going solar will add some more energy to the household but they will still collect their "social fee" for the maintainace of the Eskom grid whether you use it or not.
 
Given Eskom's track record, it is difficult to trust what they say.

world-nuclear-news.org

Safety concerns over Koeberg containment refuted

South African utility Eskom and the National Nuclear Regulator have refuted media reports that the reinforced concrete containment buildings at the Koeberg nuclear power plant have suffered extensive corrosion and would not be able to prevent the release of radiation in the event of a severe...
world-nuclear-news.org
 
bwana said:
Where do you think SA should focus their efforts when it comes to producing electricity to meet the needs of the country? Are renewables such as wind, solar and hydro the solution or do we need more nuclear power? Or is the continued use of fossil fuels the answer?
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South Africa is not heading towards the storm its already in it, it needs quick solutions to fix the issue on hand, debating anything with a decades long build time, requiring many billions from a state that is surviving on debt is not logical...

Viet Nam incentivised households and businesses to install rooftop solar, In just A Year, 9.3 gigawatts of extra generating capacity equivalent to Six Coal-Fired Plants was added.

Viet Nam has installed 6 coal plants’ worth of solar in a year

The ANC needs to remove the bureaucracy involved with self-generation, encourage investment and let the people power the nation.
 
RVQ said:
South Africa is not heading towards the storm its already in it, it needs quick solutions to fix the issue on hand, debating anything with a decades long build time, requiring many billions from a state that is surviving on debt is not logical...

Viet Nam incentivised households and businesses to install rooftop solar, In just A Year, 9.3 gigawatts of extra generating capacity equivalent to Six Coal-Fired Plants was added.

Viet Nam has installed 6 coal plants’ worth of solar in a year

The ANC needs to remove the bureaucracy involved with self-generation, encourage investment and let the people power the nation.
Click to expand...
But that will never happen, SA is moving to more socialism while Vietnam is moving in the right direction. All this debating is actually irrelevant because this problem will not going away while under ANC rule. The ANC will be adding more bureaucracy to solar. You will not be allowed to not pay because somebody has to pay.
 
It won't keep the lights on, it will continue down the path of destabilization to eventually justify more despotic centralized control and to "prove" Marxism is better.
 
Other.

South Africa needs a free market to provide electricity to customers. The correct mix of generation that supplies that market will then eventually filter through via the pricing mechanism.
 
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